n. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH 


OF    THE 


SYNOD  OFixEW-JEPtSEY. 


A.    S  E  H  ]\1  O  N 


PREACHED   AT  THE 


©icitiitg  of  tlje  %noir  at  lottsbille,  '^lu, 

OCTOBER  15th   1661, 
BY  RAVAUD   K.^ODGERS,   D.  D. 

PASTOR  OF  THE   PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH, 

BOUITID    BE-OOJS:,    2sr.    J-. 

AND   MODERATOR   OF   THE  SYNOD. 


PUBLISHED   BY    REQUEST    OF    THE    SYNOD. 


TERHUNE  &  VAN  ANGLEN'S  PRESS,  ALBANY  ST. 


SERIVLON 


"And  thou  shalt  remember  all  the  way  which  the  Lord  thy  God 
led  thee." — Deut.  viii  :  2. 

It  is  Avell  to  think  on  mercies  past — to  look  back 
upon  the  way  in  which  the  Lord  our  God  has  led  us 
— to  call  to  mind  the  various  blessings  of  a  spiritual 
and  temporal  nature  with  which  the  Most  High  has 
been  pleased  to  crown  our  years,  and  to  contemplate 
his  dealings  with  us  under  all  the  circumstances,  in 
which,  in  his  holy  Providence  we  have  been  placed. 
Such  a  review  with  reference  to  ourselves  or  those  in 
whom  we  may  have  been  or  are  interested  is  often- 
times calculated  to  inspire  us  with  confidence  in  God, 
and  to  lead  us  the  more  to  cast  our  cares  on  him.  If 
we  are  tlie  professing  followers  of  Jesus  Christ,  or  are 
ambassadors  of  the  Cross,  and  those  circumstances 
have  a  bearing  upon  the  church  which  he  has  estab- 
lished in  our  fallen  world,  and  more  especially  upon 
that  department  of  it  with  which  we  have  the  happi- 
ness to  be  connected,  we  shall  find  in  them,  the  more 
that  we  ponder  upon  them,  increasing  reasons  why 
we  should  make  the  Lord  our  trust.  It  was  with  the 
view  of  shewing  the  people  of  Israel  what  God  had 
done  for  them,  as  well  as  for  the  purpose  of  keeping 
them  in  mind  of  the  obligations  which  rested  upon 


them,  arising  from  the  many  benefits  which  God  had 
kindly  conferred,  that  the  law-giver  of  Israel  ad- 
dressed them  as  he  did  in  the  words  of  the  text. 
The  Israelites  were,  as  it  is  well  known,  the  peculiar 
people  of  God — assurances  of  a  very  decided,  and 
we  may  add,  of  a  very  cheering  character  had  been 
given  to  the  flithers  that  the  blessings  of  the  Most 
High  should  not  be  withheld  from  the  children,  and 
so  long  as  there  Avas  a  compliance  on  their  part,  with 
the  precepts  of  God's  holy  law,  Vv'e  find  that  light 
was  made  to  shine  around  them  and  deliverances 
ofttimes  of  a  remarkable  character  were  wrought  out 
on  their  behalf  With  all  the  circumstances  of  their 
going  down  into  Egypt^of  their  oppressions  there 
— of  their  wanderings  in  the  wilderness,  and  of  their 
being  about  to  be  put  in  possession  of  the  land  which 
God  had  promised  to  Abraham  that  his  seed  should 
inherit  it,  you  are  all  well  acquainted.  And  it  was 
meet  that  they  should  remember  with  devout  grati- 
tude the  mercies  which  had  been  so  profusely  scat- 
tered all  along  the  path  in  which  they  had  been  led. 
But  the  people  of  Israel  w^ere  not  the  only  people  for 
whom  the  charge  in  the  text  was  intended.  True,  it 
was  primarily  addressed  to  them,  but  it  is  to  be  con- 
sidered as  addressed  through  them  to  us;  and  not  to 
notice  the  voice  of  the  Most  High,  which  is  uttered 
here,  betrays  an  indifference  in  regard  to  great  inter- 
ests, and  manifests  a  degree  of  ingratitude,  with 
which  it  is  apprehended  no  one  of  us  would  be  wil- 
ling to  be  charged.  What  have  we  that  we  have 
not  received  ?  In  asking  your  attention  then,  Fathers 
And  Brethren  of  the  ministry  and  eldership  to  the 


charge  in  the  text,  on  this  occasion,  it  is  my  purpose 
to  present  some  statements  in  connection  with  the 
history  of  the  Synod  with  which  we  are  more  imme- 
diately connected,  and  from  them  we  shall  see  how 
the  Lord  our  God  has  led  this  Judicatory  of  our 
church,  and  that  portion  of  Zion  embraced  in  its 
limits.  It  has  been,  as  we  shall  find,  in  many  re- 
spects, a  highly  favored  part  of  the  heritage  of  Jacob, 
and  it  becomes  us  to  remember  what  God  has  done  for 
it,  and  for  us,  as  belonging  to  it. 

The  Synod  of  New  Jersey  was  originally  a  part  of 
the  Synod  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  the  first 
arrangements  for  the  erection  of  which,  were  made  by 
the  Synod  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia  in  the  year 
1786.*  In  1787,  the  matter  was  again  brought  up 
and  "  the  Synod  agreed  that  the  arrangement  of  the 
Presbyteries  under  four  Synods  should  for  the 
present  remain  as  determined  last  year."f  There 
the  whole  matter  rested  under  a  resolution  that  the 
division  of  the  Synod,  which  it  would  seem  had  not 
been  fully  perfected,  be  postponed  until  next  year, 
and  that  the  Synod  be  then  divided.;];  In  the  year 
1788,  a  resolution  was  passed  that  the  Synod  be 
divided  agreeably  to  an  act  made  and  provided  for 
that  purpose  in  the  year  1786,  and  that  the  division 
should  commence  upon  the  dissolution  of  the  Synod 
then  in  session. §  Tlie  four  Synods  iuto  which  the 
original  body  was  divided,  were  the  Synods  oi  Pliila- 
delphia^  New  York  and  Neiv  Jersey^  Virginia  and  the 

*  Keoi.nls  ot  llie  PresKylcriuu  Churjli— page  524.  +   Do.  page  541. 

X  Kucoids — page  541.  §  Do.  p;i^'C  54S. 


Carolinas,  and  these  embraced  the  whole  Presby- 
teriaD  church.  Previous  to  the  year  1823,  in  which 
year  the  Synod  of  New  Jerseij  was  organized,  the 
Synods  of  Ftitsburgh^  Kentucky^  Albany,  South  Caro- 
lina and  Ohio  had  been  erected.  ||  In  1823  the  origi- 
nal Synod  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey  hav  ing  been 
divided,  this  Judicatory  took  its  place  among  its  sis- 
ter Synods,  and  has  now  been  in  existence  for  a 
period  of  thirty-eight  years.  Its  first  meeting  was 
held  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  City  of 
Newark,  N.  J.,  in  October,  1823,  and  was  opened 
with  a  sermon  by  the  venerable  and  Rev.  Dr.  John 
Woodhull,  of  Freehold :  the  Rev.  Dr.  Alexander  of 
blessed  memory,  was  the  first  Moderator.  The  Synod 
then  consiste  1  of  the  Presbyteries  of  New  Brunsivick, 
Jersey,  Neivton  and  Susquehanna- — those  of  Hudson, 
North  River,  Long  Island  and  New  York  remaining 
to  constitute  the  Synod  of  New  York. 

The  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick  the  oldest  of 
those  set  olF,  to  aid  in  the  constitution  of  this  Synod, 
was  organized  in  New  Brunswick  on  the  8th  of 
August,  1738,  in  accordance  with  the  direction  of  the 
Synod  of  Philadelphia,  on  the  26th  of  May  of  that 
year.  The  order  of  the  Synod  was,  that  "all  to  the 
northward  and  eastward  of  Maidenhead  and  Hope- 
well unto  the  Raritan  river,  including  also  Staten 
Island"  with  several  congregations  which  are  named 
and  which  still  belong  to  the  Presbytery  of  New 
Brunswick,  should  be  erected  into  a  Presbytery, 
"and  that  the  said  Presbytery  be  distinguished  by 

II   Pittsbiiivh  ovgjuiizeil  in  1802;  Keulucky  do.  1802;  Albany  do.  1S03;  South 
Carolina  do.   1813 ;  Ohio  do.  1814. 


the  name  of  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick" :  as 
such,  it  remains  with  us  to  this  day. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Synod  of  New  York  and 
New  Jersey,  in  October,  1809,  and  of  course  a  num- 
ber of  years  previous  to  the  erection  of  this  Synod, 
the  Presbytery  of  New  York  was  divided,  and  that 
part  of  the  Presbytery  lying  in  the  State  of  New 
Jersey,  was  thereafter  to  be  known  as  the  Presbytery 
of  Jersey;  and  so  continued  until  the  year  1824, 
when  as  we  shall  presently  see,  it  was  divided  into 
the  Presbyteries  of  Newark  and  Elizabethtown. 

The  Presbytery  of  Newion^  the  third  of  those 
stated  as  set  off  for  the  purpose  of  constituting  this 
Synod,  was  formed  from  the  Presbytery  of  New 
Brunswick,  in  October,  1817,  and  was  "composed 
of  those  members  and  congregations  of  the  Presby- 
tery of  New  Brunswick  which  lie  north  and  west  of 
a  line  drawn  from  the  Delaware  river  so  as  to  include 
the  congregations  of  Amwell,  Flemington,  Laming- 
ton  and  Baskingridge." 

This  Presbytery  held  its  first  meeting  at  Mansfield, 
on  the  18th  day  of  November,  1817,  when  it  was 
duly  organized,  and  agreeably  to  its  first  report, 
consisted  of  fifteen  members,  with  twenty-five  con- 
gregations. 

The  Presbytery  of  Susquehanna^  the  last  remaining 
original  Presbytery  of  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey, 
was  received  under  the  care  of  the  Synod  of  New 
York  and  New  Jersey  in  the  month  of  October,  1821.* 
This  Presbytery  had  been  known  as  the  Luzerne  As- 
sociation^ but,  having  unanimously  adopted  the  con- 

*  Miuuies  of  Synod,  vol.  1,  page  510. 


fessioii  of  faith  and  book  of  discipline  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  in  the  United  States,  requested  to  be 
received  under  the  care  of  this  Synod,  provided  that 
such  of  their  churches  as  chose  to  do  so,  might  be 
allowed  to  manage  their  own  concerns  in  the  congre- 
gational manner  ;  and  they  were  received  under  the 
plan  of  union  of  1801,  and  such  was  the  original 
constitution  of  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey.  The 
whole  number  of  ministers  in  connection  with  it, 
when  erected,  was  eighty -tliree,^  and  the  whole  num- 
ber of  churches  one  hundred  aiid  four.  Of  these 
eighty-three  ministers,  but  fourteen  are  now  living, 
so  far  as  we  can  learn — six  of  them  retainins;  their 
membership  with  this  body — and  these  are  all  that 
are  left  with  us,  to  tell  us  from  actual  experience,  how 
the  Lord  our  God  has  led  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey. 
Verily,  when  we  contemplate  such  a  change  as  has 
taken  place  in  the  membership  of  this  body,  during 
the  thirty-eight  years  of  its  existence,  we  are  con- 
strained to  ask,  "  Our  fathers,  where  are  they  ?  And 
the  prophets,  do  tliey  live  forever  ?"f  The  six  who 
yet  remain  are  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kirkpatrick,  who  may 
well  be  regarded  as  the  patriarch  of  the  Synod,  he 
having  been  engaged  in  the  work  of  the  ministry 
more  than  half  a  century,  the-  Eev.  Dr.  Perkins,  the 

*  Ministers.  Churches. 

New  Brunswick,        -         24------        16 

Newton,        --  17  -----  28 

Jersey,      ---  32        ------        34 

Susquehanna,      --10  -----  26 

83  104 

+  Dr.  Kirkpatrick,  orrlained  Juno  20th,  1810;  Pr.  Perkins,  (\o.  Dec.  6th,  1820-. 
Dr.  Mngic,  do.  April  24tli,  1821;  Mr.  Williamson,  do.  Nov.  6th,  1-821;  Dr.' 
Hodge  and  Dr.  Studdiford,  do.  Nov.'SSth,  l*f31.    . 

.« 


Rev.  Dr.  Magie,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hodge,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Studdiford  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Abraham  Williamson. 
As  the  thirty-eight  years  of  the  Synod's  existence 
have  been  passing  along,  the  Synod  has  increased 
from  four  to  eleven  Presbyteries — besides  having  had 
under  its  care  still  others  to  which  reference  will 
presently  be  made — from  eir/Jdy-three  to  one  hundred 
and  eighty  five  ministers,  and  from  one  hundred  and 
four  churches  to  one  hundred  and  ninety-four ;  so 
that  if  every  minister  should  be  in  attendance  and 
each  church  should  be  represented,  as  each  church 
ought  to  be,  we  should  have  an  assembly  of  three 
hundred  and  seventy-nine  ministers  and  elders,  to  take 
part  in  the  deliberations  of  the  body.  The  number 
of  ministers  and  churches  thus  stated  is  irrespective 
of  those  connected  with  the  Presbytery  of  Corisco 
in  Africa,  that  Presbytery  not  having  made,  when 
received  under  the  care  of  the  Synod,  any  report  in 
regard  to  its  number  of  ministers  and  churches, 
though  we  have  since  learned  that  they  had  four 
ministers  and  one  church.  But  here  it  is  our  mourn- 
ful duty  to  say  that  that  small  number  of  four  has 
been  diminished  by  the  departure  from  life  of  the 
beloved  missionary  Ogdex,  whom  the  Master  has 
called  to  his  home  on  high !  As  it  respects  the  in- 
crease of  members  in  the  churches  we  cannot  speak 
with  any  degree  of  accuracy,  the  reports  of  churches 
beiug  from  year  to  year,  in  many  cases  very  defective. 
The  reports  of  the  Presbyteries  to  the  last  General 
Assembly  make  the  number  in  connection  with  our 
churches  to  be  twenty-three  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  twenty-three.      By   the  reports  of  the  several 


10 

Presbyteries  to  the  Synod  at  the  last  stated  meeting, 
there  appear  to  be  twenty-seven  licentiates  and  twenty 
three  candidates  under  their  care. 

We  have  stated  that  in  the  year  1824,  the  Presby- 
tery of  Jersey  was  divided  into  the  Presbyteries  of 
Newark  and  Elizahethtown.  The  Presbytery  of 
Newark  remained  as  one  of  the  Presbyteries  of  this 
Synod  until  the  year  1839,  when  it  was  disowned  by 
the  Synod  and  declared  to  be  no  longer  in  connec- 
tion with  it  in  consequence  of  its  having  declared  its 
adherence  to  the  body  which  went  off  from  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  1838  and  held  its  sessions  in  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  in  Philadelphia,  and  which 
claimed  to  be,  in  the  face  of  all  law  and  order,  the 
true  General  Assembly.  The  Presbytery  of  Eliza- 
hethtown remains  with  us  to  this  day. 

In  the  year  1832  the  Presbytery  of  Montrose  was 
erected,  having  been  taken  from  the  Presbytery  of 
Susquehanna.  It  continued  to  be  one  of  the  Presby- 
teries of  the  Synod  until  the  year  1838,  when  it  was 
declared  to  be  no  longer  in  connection  with  it,  it 
having  by  its  own  measures  placed  itself  in  an  eccle- 
siastical connection  inconsistent  with  any  longer  rela- 
tion to  this  Synod. 

The  Presbytery  of  Caledonia^  next  in  order  of  age, 
was  erected  in  the  year  1838.  It  was  originally  a 
part  of  the  Presbytery  of  Susquehanna.  This  latter 
body  occupying  a  territory  of  more  than  two  hundred 
miles  in  extent,  it  was  considered  advisable  that  it 
should  be  divided.  In  accordance  with  the  request 
of  the  Presbytery,  five  ministers  and  five  churches 
were  detached  from  it,  and  constituted  into  a  Presby- 


11 

tery  to  be  known  as  that  of  Caledonia.  This  Presby- 
tery remained  in  connection  with  the  Synod  until  the 
year  1843,  constantly  increasing  in  numbers  and  effi- 
ciency. Their  last  report  was  made  in  1842,  when 
they  reported  fifteen  ministers  and  fourteen  churches 
with  one  licentiate  and  two  candidates  under  their  care- 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Synod  in  1842,  this  Presby- 
tery preferred  a  request,  in  view  of  the  extent  of 
their  territory  and  the  fact  that  some  ministers  and 
churches  from  the  disowned  Synods  in  the  State  of 
New  York  had  cast  in  their  lot  with  them,  for  a  divi- 
sion, and  the  two  Presbyteries  of  Steuben  and  Wyo- 
ming were  constituted — the  name  of  Caledonia  being 
dropped.  In  the  month  of  May,  1843,  the  General 
Assembly  erected  the  Synod  of  Buffalo,  in  accordance 
with  the  enactment  of  the  Assembly  of  1838,  and 
attached  these  newly  erected  Presbyteries  to  that 
Synod,*  the  Presbytery  of  Ogdensburgh,  before  con- 
nected with  the  Synod  of  Albany,  being  detached 
from  that  Synod  for  the  purpose  of  making  up  the 
number  necessary  for  the  formation  of  the  new  Synod, 

Next  in  order  is  the  Presbytery  of  Raritan,  which 
was  erected  by  this  Synod  in  October,  1839,  and 
organized  on  the  5th  of  November  of  that  year. 
This  Presbytery  was  taken,  for  the  most  part,  from 
the  Presbytery  of  Newton,  and  consisted  at  the  outset 
of  nine  ministers  and  twelve  churches  from  that 
Presbytery,  and  one  minister  and  two  churches  from 
the  Presbytery  of  New-Brunswick;  and  has  since  its 
organization,  though  among  the  smallest  of  our  Pres- 
byteries, been  zealously  engaged  in  founding  churches 

*  Minutes  of  Assembly  for  1843 — page  174. 


12 

— repairing  the  waste  places,  and  extending  the 
interests  of  the  Redeemer's  Kingdom  within  its 
borders. 

In  the  year  1843,  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne  was 
formed  by  the  General  Assembly,"^  the  Committee  of 
Bills  and  Overtm^es,  having  presented  an  overture  to 
that  effect.  Two  ministers  and  four  churches  were 
detached  from  the  Presbytery  of  Susquehanna ;  two 
ministers  and  four  churches  from  the  Presbytery  of 
Newton  ;  one  church  from  the  Presbytery  of  Northum- 
berland, and  one  from  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia. 
This  Presbytery  so  constituted  by  the  supreme  judi- 
catory of  our  church,  was  attached  to  this  Synod. 
It  was  duly  organized  at  Wilkesbarre,  on  the  19th  of 
September  of  the  same  year.  This  Presbytery  has 
had  from  the  beginning,  a  very  important  missionary 
field  within  its  borders,  and  by  the  blessing  of  the 
Head  of  the  church  upon  the  labors  of  those  connec- 
ted with  it,  has 'become  one  of  the  largest  in  our 
body — having  reported  at  the  last  stated  meeting 
twenty-four  ministers  and  twenty-eight  churches, 
with  four  licentiates  and  one  candidate  under  their 
care. 

At  the  same  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  at 
which  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne  was  constituted,  the 
Presbytery  of  ^¥est  Jersey.-^  which  was  organized  in 
1839,  having  been  erected  from  the  Presbytery  of 
Philadelphia,  was,  in  compliance  with  the  petition  of 
the  Presbytery,  set  oft'  from  the  Synod  of  Philadel- 


#  Minutes  of  At>eniL]y,  1843— page  195. 
t  Minutes  of  Assembly,  1843— page  174:. 


13 

phia,  and  attached  to  this  Synod,  and  is  now  with  ns, 
laboring  zealously  in  that  part  of  the  State  of  New 
Jersey,  falling  within  its  bounds,  nor,  if  we  are  to 
judge  of  the  results,  have  the  smiles  of  the  Master 
been  withheld  from  the  efforts  they  have  made  to 
advance  the  interests  of  his  kingdom.  Their  number 
of  ministers  has  increased  from  twelve  to  seventeen^  and 
their  churches  from  fifteen  to  twenty  two,  d.u'ing  the 
time  of  their  connection  with  us,  and  that  too,  when 
ministers  and  churches  have  been  taken  from  them  to 
aid  in  the  constitution  of  another  Presbytery. 

In  the  year  1849,  the  Presbytery  of  Burlington 
was  formed  from  the  Presbyteries  of  New-Brunswick 
and  West  Jersey,  three  ministers  and  three  churches 
being  taken  from  the  former  and  two  ministers  and 
three  churches  from  the  latter.  At  the  stated  meet- 
ing of  the  Synod  in  1851,  with  the  view  of  strength- 
ening this  Presbytery,  the  church  of  Allentown,  with 
its  pastor,  the  Rev.  Mr.  (now  Dr.)  Perkins  was  trans- 
ferred from  the  Presbytery  of  New-Brunswick  to  that 
of  Burlington,  and  at  the  stated  meeting  in  1859,  at 
the  instance  of  the  lamentel  Van  Rensselair,  who 
took,  as  all  well  know,  a  deep  interest  in  everything 
connected  with  the  affiiirs  of  our  church,  the  territory 
of  the  Presbytery  of  Burlington  was  extended  so  as 
to  include  within  its  bounds  the  city  of  Camden  and 
the  townships  of  Newton,  Union,  Centre  and  Dela- 
ware in  the  County  of  Camden,  N.  J.  By  this  action 
of  the  Synod,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Stewart  and  the  church 
of  Camden,  (for  at  that  time  there  was  but  one  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  that  city,)  were  "detached  from 
the  Presbytery  of  West  Jersey  and  set  over  to  the 


14 

Presbytery  of  Burlington,  This  Presbytery,  has,  as 
is  the  case  with  others  in  our  bounds,  a  large  jnission- 
ary  field  committed  to  its  care,  and  very  earnest 
efforts  are  being  made  to  remove  the  obstacles  in  the 
way  of  the  growth  of  that  kingdom  which  is  not  of 
this  world,  and  who  that  loves  to  pray  "  thy  kingdom 
come,"  will  not  ask  that  that  which  is  done  for  the 
upbuilding  of  Zion's  cause  within  the  borders  of  Bur- 
lington Presbytery,  may  be  crowned  with  abundant 
success ! 

The  Presbytery  next  to  be  noticed  as  connected 
with  this  Synod  is  that  of  Passaic.  At  the  meeting 
of  the  Synod  in  1852,  a  memorial  was  presented  by 
the  Presbytery  of  Elizabethtown  for  a  division  of 
that  Presbytery.  The  Committee  of  Bills  and  Over- 
tures having  reported  favorably  to  the  measure,  the 
Presbytery  was  divided,  and  a  wqw  Presbytery  was 
formed,  to  be  known  as  the  Presbytery  of  Passaic. 
The  Presbytery  thus  erected  was  duly  organized  at 
Paterson,  N.  J.,  on  the  10th  of  November  of  1852, 
and  may  be  said  to  have  commenced  its  existence 
under  very  favorable  auspices,  having  at  the  outset, 
seventeen  ministers  and  fourteen  churches,  and  among 
these  are  some  of  the  largest,  and  most  able  and 
influential  in  the  Synod. 

The  Presbytery  of  Monmouth,  the  last  constituted 
by  the  Synod,  was  erected  at  the  meeting  of  the  Synod, 
in  the  year  1859,  and  was  organized  at  the  Tennent 
Church  on  the  11th  of  January,  1860.  It  was  taken 
wholly  from  the  Presbytery  of  New-Brunswick,  and 
consisted  at  its  organization  of  tivelve  ministers  and 
thirteen  churches.     This  Presbytery  has  an  important 


15 

missionary  field  commonly  known  as  the  Pines  within 
its  bounds,  and  the  manner  in  which  the  members  of 
this  new  organization  have  commenced  tlieir  work, 
furnishes  ground  for  the  hope  that  ere  long  the 
wilderness,  which  it  hfis  fallen  to  their  lot  to  cultivate, 
may  become  a  fruitful  field,  and  their  whole  ecclesias- 
tical enclosure  as  the  garden  of  the  Lord. 

The  only  remaining  Presbytery  to  be  noticed  as  in 
connection  with  this  Synod  is  that  of  Corisco  in 
Africa,  which  was  organized  in  the  month  of  May, 
I860,'*  and  taken  under  the  care  of  the  Synod  of 
New  Jersey,  at  their  own  request  in  October,  1860, 
in  accordance  with  the  rule  of  the  General  Assembly 
in  such  cases.  One  of  the  membersf  of  that  Presby- 
tery being  present,  took  his  seat  as  a  member  of  the 
Synod.  The  organization  of  a  Presbytery  in  that  far 
off  and  benighted  land,  is  as  a  light  shining  in  a  dark 
place  and  leads  to  the  indulgence  of  the  hope  that 
by  the  blessing  of  God  upon  the  labors  of  the  band 
of  self-denying  and  devoted  missionaries  who  are 
connected  with  that  infant  Presbytery,  Ethiopia  will 
soon  stretch  forth  her  hands  unto  God!  Already 
they  have  reason  to  rejoice  in  a  church  of  fifty-seven 
members — God  speed  the  day  when  their  little  one 
shall  become  a  thousand  and  their  small  one  a  strong 
nation— a  nation  of  believers,  scattering  the  light  of 
grace  on  all  around. 

Thus  we  see  that  there  have  been  under  the  care 
of  the  Synod,  since  its  erection  in  1823,  seventeen, 

*  Minnies  of  Assembly  of  1838— page  42;  and  BairJ's  Digest,  edition  of  185$ 
— page  365. 

t  Kev.  Mr.  Mackey. 


16 

Presbyteries,*  of  which  eleven  remain  with  iis  to  this 
day  ;  and  who  is  there  not  prepared  to  say,  when  we 
compare  the  present  condition  of  the  Synod  in  point 
of  Presbyteries  and  ministers  and  churches  and  mem- 
bers, with  its  Estate  at  its  commencement,  that  the 
Lord  onr  God  has  led  us  in  a  way  of  great  mercy. 

During  the  period  to  which  we  have  been  making 
allusion,  to  wit,  from  1823  to  18G0  inclusive,  (for  the 
reports  of  the  year  just  closed,  are  yet  to  be  made,) 
there  have  been,  in  the  several  Presbyteries  while 
connected  with  the  Synod,  two  hundred  and  seventy- 
three  ordinations  to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  the 
greater  part  of  which  were  with  a  view  to  the  pas- 
toral office;  two  hundred  and  thirty-six  installations 
of  ministers  who  had  been  previously  ordained. 
There  have  been  three  hundred  and  eighty  dismissions 
of  ministers  from  their  respective  Presbyteries  to 
other  Presbyteries  or  ecclesiastical  bodies  not  imme- 
diately connected  Avith  our  own  church ;    two  hun- 


*  Presbyteries.                             Cokstitoted. 

New-Bi  uuswick, 

1738. 

Jersey,         _           -            -           - 

- 

181)9. 

DiviJed  in  1824. 

Kewton,             _           _           -           - 

1M7. 

SiisqiK'lianna,          _           -           - 

- 

1821. 

< 

!Ne\V!ii-k,            -           -           -           - 

18'24. 

Disowned  in  1839. 

Elizubcllitown,       -           -           - 

- 

^  1:^24. 

Montrose,        _           -           -           - 

1832. 

Disowned  in  1838. 

Calcdnuia,             .           -           _           - 

1838. 

I>ividcd  in  1842. 

Steiibuii,         .           _           -           - 

- 

1842 

AttiicliC'l  to  liie  Synod  of 

W\oinii){^,            -           -           _           - 

1842. 

.  Butfitlo,  in  1813. 

Eiiritiin,         _           _           -           - 

- 

1839. 

LiizcMie,             _           _           -           . 

1843. 

West  Jersey,           -           -           - 

- 

1839. 

Burlington,         _           _           -           - 

1849. 

I'assiiic,        .            -           -           - 

- 

18-)2. 

Monmouth,         - 

1859. 

Corisco,        -           - 

- 

1860. 

17 

dred  and  sixty -seven  dissolutions  of  the  pastoral  rela- 
tion have   taken   place;   four  hundred  and  seventy 
persons  have  been  licensed  to  preach  the  everlasting- 
Gospel ;    one  hundred  and  twenty-six  churches  have 
been  organized,  and  sixty-nine  of  the  clerical  mem- 
bers of  the  Synod,  without  including  those  whom  it 
has  pleased  God  to  take  away  from  among  us  during 
the  past  year,  have  been  removed  by  death,  and  of 
this  number,  as  all  who  have  been  acquainted  with 
the  members  of  this  Synod  well  know,  were  many 
who  might  well  be  termed  burning  and  shining  lights 
in    our   beloved    Zion.      We   mourn    to-day,    in    an 
especial  manner,  the  absence  by  reason  of  death,  of 
four  of  our  members,  three  of  whom  while  with  us, 
were  prominent  members  of  this  body,  and  were  in 
attendance  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  usual  health,  at 
the  last  stated  meeting  of  the  Synod.     I  allude  to 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Isaac  V.  Brown,*  of  the  Presbytery  of 
New-Brunswick,   one  of  the  oldest  members  of  the 
Synod,   having   been  set  apart  to  the  work  of  the 
ministry  in  the  month  of  June,   1807.     Dr.  Brown 
was  the  pastor  of  the  church  of  Lawrence  for  twenty- 
one  years,  and  for  a  large  part  of  that  time,  a  success- 
ful teacher  of  youth.     His  relation  to  the  church  he 
served,  was  dissolved  in  December,  1828,  since  which 
time  to  the  date  of  his  death,  he  lived  in  comparative 
retirement. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Murray,  the  second  of  those  to 
whom  I  have  referred,  as  taken  from  us  by  death 
during  the  year,  was  suddenly  removed,  in  February 

*  The  Rev.  Dr.  Brown  Hied  at  Tre)iton  on  ilie  Ifltli  of  April,  1R«1,  in  tlin  7fth 
ye«r  of  his  ag«. 


18 

last,  after  a  highly  successful  pastorate  in  the  1st 
Church  of  Elizabethtown,  for  the  period  of  nearly 
twenty-eight  years,  he  having  been,  previous  to  his 
settlement  among  that  people,  the  pastor  of  the  church 
in  Wilkesbarre,  where  he  was  ordained  and  installed 
in  November,  1829.  He  removed  from  Wilkesbarre 
to  Elizabethtown  in  1833,  end  was  installed  as  pastor 
of  the  1st  Church  in  the  latter  place  in  July,  1833.* 
The  name  of  Nicholas  Murray  is  recorded  as  present 
at  every  meeting  of  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey  from 
the  meeting  in  1830,  the  first  held  after  his  ordination, 
to  1860,  and  such  a  record  cannot  be  made  of  any 
other  individual  so  long  connected  with  this  body. 
In  this,  our  departed  brother  has  set  an  example 
which  many  would  do  well  to  follow.  And  here,  I 
am  happy  in  being  allowed  to  bear  my  testimony  in 
his  behalf,  in  the  language  of  his  bereaved  and 
mourning  co-presbyters,  who  knew  him  well,  and 
knew  how  to  estimate  his  character  and  worth ; 
"  llis  name,  his  character  and  his  works  are  already 
on  record,  wide  as  the  limits  of  the  church  at  home 
and  abroad."  "A  willing  worker,  devising  liberal 
things,  fraternally  genial,  decided  in  the  faith  and 
order  of  our  church,  but  no  bigot  nor  sympathi  er 
with  the  exclusive."  I  regai*ded  it  my  privilege  to 
be  with  those  who  accompanied  his  remains  to  their 
resting-place  in  the  midst  of  the  great  congregation 


*  Dr.  Murray  died  ou  tlie  4th  of  February,  ISfil.  Dr.  Murray  was  I'censfd  to 
preach  tho  Gospel  by  tlie  I're-I)yievy  of  rhil.-idelphia,  in  April,  1829.  F^r  a 
more  cxtenlcd  noiieo  of  his  lilo  iind  hibors,  see  the  sennoii,  preaciied  on  tlio 
ocoiision  of  his  dcalli,  by  the  Hev.  Dr.  Sprairue  of  Albany,  on  Mibbuth,  Fv;b.  10th, 
1861.  TUesoriubu  was  preached  at  Elizabethtowii,  the  Sabbath  alter  Dr.  Murray 
died. 


19 

sleeping  by  the  side  of  the  Sanctuary  where  he  so 
•     long    ministered.      Very   pleasant   was   he    to   me! 
Sweet  be  his  sleep  on  his  pillow  of  dust ! 

The  third  stated  to  hav^e  been  present  at  the  last 
meeting  of  the  Synod,  and  removed  from  toil  on 
earth  to  reward  on  high,  is  the  Rev.  Dr.  John 
DoRRANCE,*  for  iflany  years  a  member  of  the  Presby- 
tery within  the  bounds  of  which  we  are  now  assem- 
bled, a  brother  greatly  beloved.  We  do  not  wonder 
that  brethren  with  whom  he  had  been  long  associated 
and  who  knew  him  best,  should  deplore  his  loss,  as 
that  of  a  devoted  friend,  a  wise  and  able  counsellor, 
whose  comprehensive  mind  and  catholic  spirit  em- 
braced the  whole  church,  and  whose  constant  exer- 
tions for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  were 
devoted  to  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  large  mission- 
ary field  within  the  bounds  of  the  Presbytery  with 
wliich  he  was  connected.  And  his  too  was  the  privi- 
lege of  enjoying  a  longer  pastorate  than  usually  falls 
to  the  lot,  in  these  days  of  too  frequent  ministerial 
changes.  He  was  installed  the  pastor  of  the  church 
of  Wilkesbarre  on  the  22ad  of  August,  1833.  The 
church  to  which  he  so  long  ministered  was  happy  in 
obtaining  the  services  of  one  to  go  in  and  out  before 
them,  whose  heart  was  in  his  work,  so  soon  after  the 
departure  from  among  them  of  the  lamented  Murray, 
for  their  vacancy  was  scarcely  of  two  months  dura- 
tion. But  we  shall  see  these  brethren  no  more 
among  us.  The  Master  has  done  serving  himself  of 
them  here,  and  they  have  gone  away  at  his  bidding 
to  receive  the  welcome  of  the  Judge,  and  the  reward 

*  Dr.  Dorrance  died  on  the  Ibth  of  April,  1861. 


20 

of  the  good  and  faithful  servant.  The  fourth  spoken 
of  as  removed  by  death  since  our  last  meeting,  is  one 
in  whom  many  fond  hopes  were  centered,  and  in 
regard  to  whom,  hope  was  entertained  that  he  might 
be  the  instrument  of  great  good  to  the  benighted  in 
Africa,  among  whom  as  a  foreign  missionary  he  had 
cast  his  lot.  Thomas  Spencer  Ogien,  a  son  of  one 
who  was  long  a  member  of  this  Synod,  was  set  apart 
to  the  work  of  the  ministry  as  a  missionary  to  the 
heatlien,  by  the  Presbytery  of  New-Brunswick,  on. 
the  18th  of  August,  1857,  and  was  appointed  by  our 
Foreign  Board  to  labor  in  Corisco  in  Africa. ■^^*  He 
had  begun  his  work  with  the  pleasant  prospect  of 
usefulness,  but  He,  who  seeth  not  as  man  seeth,  was 
pleased  to  call  him  to  an  higher  sphere  at  a  time 
when  to  human  view  it  was  necessary  for  him  to 
abide  in  the  flesh.  He  died  on  the  12th  of  May  last, 
with  an  abiding  trust  in  Him  who  had  called  him  to  his 
work.  "  In  whom  else  can  we  trust,"  said  the  youth- 
ful missionary,  in  his  dying  hour,  when  asked  by  one 
who  stood  by  his  couch,  if  he  found  comfort  in  trust- 
ing in  Christ  ?  The  removal  from  the  Synod  during 
the  thirty-eight  years  of  its  existence  of  seventy-three 
of  its  members  by  death,  is  a  loud  and  solemn  call  to 
us  who  survive,  to  be  preparing  for  the  season  when 
the  Master  shall  be  pleased  to  call  us  away  from  our 
loved  work  in  his  church  below.  But  four  of  these 
thirty-eight  years  have  gone  by  without  report  having 
been  made  that  death  had  entered  the  Sanctuary  of 
God,  and  summoned  hence  the  ambassador  of  the 

*  Mr.  Ocr.len  Uft  New  York  ..n  tlii;  fitli  of  Oct..biT,  1S57,  iHid  vcnclicd  Corisco 
on  tliu  14.1  h  of  Jainuiry,  1858,  and  entered  ut  onee  upon  his  work  iiuil  that  with 
I)  zeul  vvhifh  nhew'ed  that  he  wuB  in  earnest. 


21 

cross.  The  highest  number  called  away  in  any  one 
year  was  seven  and  that  was  from  October  1859  to 
October  1860 ;  of  these  four  were  taken  from  the 
VvQ^hyiQvy  o^  New- Brunswick,  and  one  from  each  of  the 
Presbyteries  of  West  Jersey,  Luzerne  and  Buriimjton. 
But,  my  brethren,  while  the  Most  High  has  been 
going  forth  among  us  in  the  judgments  of  his  hands, 
and  doing  his  strange  work,  he  has  been  leading  us 
as  a  body  in  ways  of  great  mercy.  This  Synod 
has  been  a  highly  favored  part  of  the  heritage  of  the 
Lord.  Very  many  of  the  churches  under  our  care 
have  reason  to  speak  forth  the  praise  of  the  Lord. 
They  have  not  been  without  manifest  tokens  of  the 
Divine  presence.  We  do  not  know  of  a  single  year 
of  the  Synod's  existence  having  passed  away  in 
which  there  has  not  been  reference  to  the  gracious 
dealings  of  God  in  the  way  of  revivals  in  some  part 
of  our  field.  At  one  time,  the  grace  of  the  Master 
has  been  like  the  gentle  dew  diffusing  its  tender 
influence  and  causing  the  plants  of  grace  to  grow 
and  thrive.  At  another,  it  has  been  like  the  copious 
rain  watering  the  dry  and  thirsty  ridges  of  Zion,  and 
making  it  to  appear  beyond  all  controversy  that  she 
is  a  field  which  the  Lord  has  blessed.  Yes,  brethren, 
during  tliese  thirty-eight  years  precious  revivals  have 
been  experienced,  and  thousands,  through  their  holy 
and  benign  influence  have  begun  their  eternal  song; 
and  other  thousands  brought  into  the  kingdom  of 
God,  as  the  result  of  the  outpouring  of  the  spirit  and 
laboring  to  extend  his  interests  in  the  world,  are 
waiting  with  patience  the  Master's  call  to  come  away 
from  earth  and  unite  with  those  who  have  gone  be- 


22 

fore  them  in  singing  the  praises  of  redeeming  love, 
beside  the  throne  ou  high.  Who  then  that  is  called 
of  God  to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  and  to  whom 
has  been  committed  the  care  of  precious  souls  will 
not  regard  it  his  sweet  privilege  to  labor  for  the 
descent  of  the  Spirit  upon  and  among  those  to  whom 
he  is  called  to  break  the  bread  of  life.  The  remem- 
brance of  jDH-st  revivals  with  their  rich  results,  should 
encourage  us  to  pray.  Wilt  thou  not  revive  us 
again,  that  thy  people  may  rejoice  in  thee  ?  As  it 
respects  this  matter,  the  Lord  our  God  has  led  the 
churches  of  this  Synod  in  a  way  of  great  mercy — 
for  there  are  very  few  of  them,  that  may  not  look  back 
upon  some  period  of  their  existence  and  call  to  mind 
the  rich  exhibitions  of  Divine  power  and  grace  in  the 
upbuilding  of  Zion — in  the  strengthening  the  faith  of 
believers  and  in  the  conversion  of  sinners  unto  God. 
We  have  referred  to  the  missionary  field  withhi 
the  bounds  of  this  Synod,  the  one  usually  known  as 
the  Pines  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  stretching 
along  its  Atlantic  shore,  and  within  the  bounds  of 
the  Presbyteries  of  Monmouth^  Burlington  and  West 
Jersey  ;  and  the  other  embracing  what  are  commonly 
called  the  Coal  Fields  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania, 
under  the  care  of  the  Presbyteries  of  Luzerne  and 
Susquehanna.  The  Board  of  Domestic  Missions  in 
their  last  report  state  that  forty-six*  missionaries  or 


*  M 

ISSIONAUY    I'ASTORS. 

Kew-Brnnswick, 

- 

- 

2 

Ijizcriie, 

- 

- 

- 

13 

Elizuhutlilowu, 

- 

- 

- 

2 

VV.st.  .lurscy, 

- 

-   ■ 

- 

9 

ra>siiic, 

- 

- 

1 

Biiriiiiyi  on, 

- 

- 

- 

3 

>v<wtou, 

_ 

_ 

- 

5 

Sn.-*c|iielnrnna, 

- 

- 

6 

Kuritaii,            ,   - 
Total. 

" 

" 

2 

Muuiiioutli, 

3 

23 

missionary  pastors  have  been  aided  by  the  Board 
during  the  year  ending  March  1st,  1861.     Of  these, 
fifteen    were    within    the    three    Presbyteries    first 
named,'^  and  nineteen  within  the  bounds  of  the  other 
two,f  leaving  twelve  to  be  divided  among  the  other 
five  Presbyteries  of  the  Synod,  for  the  Presbytery  of 
Corisco  is  under  the  immediate  care  of  the  Foreign 
Board.     By  the  same  repoit  it  appears  that  up  to 
the  date  already  mentioned,  there  had  been  contribu- 
ted to  the  Board  by  the  churches  of  the  Synod,  the 
sum  of  six  thousand  two  hundred  and  seventy-eight 
dollars  and  fifty-one  cents,  and  that  for  the  support 
of  the  forty-six  aided,  there  had  been  drawn  from 
the  Treasury,  six  thousand  eight  hundred  and  three 
dollars  and  ninety-nine  cents,  thus  shewing  that  the 
sum  of  five   hundred  and   twenty-four  dollars   and 
ninety- nine  cents  over  and  above  what  had  been  con- 
tributed had  been  paid  by  the  Board  for  the  purpose 
of  sustaining  the  Gospel  in  feeble  churches  within 
our  bounds ;  thus  placing  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey 
among  the  number  of  those  who  draw  out  more  than 
they  put  into  the  Treasury  of  the  Board  for  Domes- 
tic Missionary  purposes.     May  I  not  say,   that  this 
ought  not  so  to  be  ?     It  is  true  that  the  monies  which 
are  given  to  the  Board  are  not  given  for  any  particu- 
lar   church    or  Presbytery,   but  for  the  purpose  of 
assisting  churches  which  liave  not  sufficient  strength 
to  sustain  the  Gospel.     Still,  it  would  be  well  if  our 
churches  would  contribute  a  sufficient  amount  to  sus- 
tain the  ordinances  of  our  holy  religion  in  our  needy 

*  Moiniioutli,  IJiirliiiglou  auJ  West  Jorocy. 
Luzcme  and  Susquehanna. 


24 

churches  and  leave  a  surplus  for  more  distant  portions 
of  Zion.  As  it  respects  benevolent  contributions^  the 
churches  of  this  Synod  have,  in  the  general,  manifested 
a  disposition  to  do  their  part  in  sustaining  the 
agencies  of  the  church.  But  two,  out  of  the  twenty- 
one  Synods  stated  to  be  in  connection  with  the 
Domestic  Missionary  office  in  Philadelphia,  have 
dm^ing  the  year  ending  March  1st,  1861,  paid  in 
more  money  to  the  Treasury  than  the  Synod  of  New 
Jersey,  and  these  are  the  Synods  of  New  York  and 
Philadelphia,  which  include  some  of  the  largest  and 
most  wealthy  churches  in  our  whole  communion. 
The  contributions  to  the  Foreign  Board  for  the  past 
year  amounted  to  $8,128  43  ;  to  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion $2,652  76;  to  the  Board  of  Publication  $1,362 
81 ;  for  the  Church  Extension  Gomraittee  $1,386  47  ; 
making  in  all  for  these  five  Boards,  the  sum  of  $19,- 
808  98 ;  and  if  we  add  to  this  the  monies  collected 
in  our  churches  for  the  disabled  ministers  fund,  we 
shall  have  an  aggregate  of  more  than  $20,000  during 
the  year.  To  this  we  may  further  add  the  sums  col- 
lected in  the  various  churches  for  the  Bible,  Trad, 
Sunday  School  and  other  institutions  not  immediately 
under  the  control  of  our  church,  and  we  may  safely 
estimate  the  collections  of  the  year  at  $25,000. 

But  lest  I  should  exhaust  your  patience  by  these 
already  lengthened  remarks,  we  shall  close  this  dis- 
course, by  observing. 

First,  That  we  should  remember  the  way  which 
the  Lord  our  God  has  led  us  with  devout  gratitude  to 
the  Great  Head  of  the  church,  for  the  rich  blessings 
with  which  it  has  pleased  Him*  to  crown  this  Synod, 


25 

during  the  thirty-eight  years  of  its  existence.  And 
surely  if  any  part  of  our  American  Zion  is  called 
upon  to  manifest  feelings  of  gratitude  it  is  that  por- 
tion of  it,  with  Avhich  we  have  the  happiness  to  be 
connected.  The  Lord  has  done  great  things  for  us, 
whereof  we  are  glad  "Oh,  magnify  the  Lord  with 
me,  and  let  us  exalt  his  name  together  T     But, 

Secondly,  We  should  remember  the  way  which  the 
Lord  our  God  has  led  us,  luith  deep  liumUity  and 
self-ahasement  We  have  been  living.  Fathers  and 
Brethren,  in  a  wonderful  age  of  the  church,  and  yet 
how  little  have  we  done !  Nay,  we  may  ask,  Avhat 
have  we  done  for  Him  that  died  ?  God  give  us  grace 
to  humble  ourselves  before  him  and  to  lie  low  in  the 
dust  in  view  of  our  unfaithfulness!     And  then. 

Finally,  Let  us  remember  the  way  which  the  Lord 
our  God  has  led  us,  liHtlt  an  holy  determination  in  the 
strength  of  our  Master,  to  manifest  more  fidelity  during 
the  time  toe  shall  he  spared  to  labor  in  the  chnrch  on 
the  earth.  Our  days,  how  swift  they  pass  away! 
Those  with  whom  we  have  taken  sweet  counsel  are 
passing  away  with  them.  Let  us  work  then  while  it 
is  called  to-day,  that  when  the  Master  shall  come  and 
call  for  us,  we  may  be  prepared  to  render  our  account 
and  to  receive  the  welcome,  "Well  done  good  and 
faithful  servants,  enter  ye  into  the  joy  of  the  Lord." 
Then  Brethren,  beloved  in  the  bonds  of  the  Gospel, 
ns  we  have  associated  together  in  labors  and  toils  on 
the  earth,  we  shall  dwell  together  in  the  presence  of 
God  where  there  is  fulness  of  joy,  and  at  his  right 
hand  where  there  are  pleasures  forevermore ! 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  CAMDEN,   N.J. 
Corner  Stone  laid  June  22,  1871.     Dedicated  June  1,  1873. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH 

OF   THE 

SYNOD  OF  NEW  JERSEY 

FOR  THE  QUARTER  OF  A  CENTURY, 
FROM  18(>1  TO  1886. 


A  DISCOURSE 


DELIVERED   IN   THE 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Camden,  N.  J., 

AT   THE 

OPENING  OF  THE  SYNOD,  OCTOBER  18th,  1886, 

BY   THE   MODERATOR, 

Rev.  ALLEN  H.  BROWN. 


I'UBXjISHEI?    B"H"    I^EC^TJEST    of    the     S"^lsrOID. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
THE  JAS.  B.  EODGERS  PRINTING  CO., 

52  and  54  North  Sixth  Street. 

1888. 


HISTORIOAJ.  DISCOURSE. 


Hitherto  hath  the  Lord  helped  us. — 1  Samuel  7  :  12. 

Tlie  Prophet  Samuel  called  upon  the  people  of  Israel,  to 
put  away  their  strange  gods,  and  they  obeyed  his  voice,  and 
put  aM'ay  Baalim  and  Ashtaroth,  and  served  the  Lord  only. 

As  they  assembled  at  Mizpeh  to  worship  by  sacrifice  and 
prayer,  with  confession  of  sin,  the  armies  of  the  Philistines 
attacked  them  :  but  the  Lord  thundered  upon  their  enemies 
and  discomfited  them.  Then  Samuel  took  a  stone  and  set 
it  between  Mizpeh  and  Shen,  and  called  the  name  of  it 
Ebenezer  (the  stone  of  help),  saying,  Hitherto  hath  the 
Lord  helped  us. 

History  often  repeats  itself.  Profitable  it  might  be  to 
illustrate  how  God  chastens  and  humbles  His  people  when 
they  depart  from  Him,  and  how  He  delivers  them  when  they 
return  and  confess  their  sins :  but  we  must  upon  this  occasion 
hasten  to  another  application  of  the  text. 

Often  when  we  take  a  retrospect  of  our  owai  personal  expe- 
rience, or  of  the  history  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  we  are 
called  again  and  again  to  raise  a  monument  to  God's  mercy, 
and  to  inscribe  upon  it,  "Hitherto  hath  the  Lord  helped  us;" 
and  so  will  we  do  this  day. 

In  1874,  or  twelve  years  ago,  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey, 
in  session  in  tiiis  same  First  Church  of  the  City  of  Camden, 
accepted  the  resignation  of  its  Stated  Clerk  and  Treasurer,  the 
Rev.  Ravaud  K.  Rodgers,  D.  D.,  with  emphatic  recognition 
of  this  remarkable  fact,  that  for  thirty-six  years  he  had  held 
the  office,  and  discharged  the  duties  of  Stated  Clerk  and 

5 


6  HISTORICAL   SKETCH   OF 

Treasurer  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  Synod,  and  that  for 
more  than  forty  years  he  had  been  a  member  of  this  body, 
and  during  all  that  time  had  never  failed  to  be  present,  from 
the  opening  to  the  close  of  every  meeting,  though  often  meet- 
ing in  distant  places.  * 

At  Pottsville,  Pa.,  the  same  Doctor  Rodgers,  as  Moderator, 
preached  the  opening  sermon,  from  the  text,  Deuteronomy  8  :  2, 
"Thou  shalt  remember  all  the  way,  which  the  Lord  thy  God 
hath  led  thee,"  and  presented  a  historical  sketch  of  the  Synod 
of  New  Jersey,  from  its  organization  in  1823  to  that  date, 
October  15th,  1861. 

Concurrent  and  co-incident  events  suggest  to  your  Mode- 
rator, about  to  retire,  that  it  is  timely,  as  he  is  filling  out  the 
fortieth  year  of  labor  in  your  missionary  field,  to  take  up  the 
narrative  and  to  give  an  outline  of  the  history  of  the  Synod 
of  New  Jersey  for  another  quarter  of  a  century,  from  1861 
to  1886,  or  at  least  to  furnish  additional  materials  for  some 
later  historian  to  finish  the  work ;  believing  that  again  and 
again  in  our  experience  as  a  Synod,  we  shall  have  occasion  to 
apply  the  words  of  the  text,  and  to  say,  "  Hitherto  hath  the 
Lord  helped  us." 

Accepting  as  correct  the  data  and  conclusions  which  Doctor 
Rodgers  gave  us  in  1861,  and  limiting  oiir  investigation  to 
the  subsequent  twenty-five  years,  it  is  nevertheless  expedient 
to  recall  some  well-known  facts  of  antecedent  history,  e.  g., 
that  the  First  Presbytery  was  organized  in  1705  or  6 ;  that  the 
Synod  of  Philadelphia  began  in  1717,  and  was  divided  in 
1741  into  two  Synods;  that  these  two  Synods  were  reunited 
in  1758  under  the  name  of  the  Synod  of  New  York  and 
Philadelphia;  and  that  the  first  General  Assembly  met  on 
the  third  Thursday  of  May  1789,  when  the  whole  Presby- 
terian Church  comprised  four  Synods,  viz..  The  Synod  of 
Philadelphia;  The  Synod  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey; 
The  Synod   of  Virginia,  and  The  Synod  of  the  Carolinas. 

From  the  second  of  those  four  Synods,  i.  e.,  from  the  Synod 

*  See  the  Minutes  of  -Synod,  1874,  pp.  21  and  22. 


THE    SYNOD    OF    NEW    JERSEY.  I 

of  New  York  and  New  Jersey  was  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey- 
organized  in  1823,  when  it  included  four  Presbyteries,  viz., 
New  Brunswick,  Jersey,  Newton,  and  Susquehanna.  Its  first 
meeting  was  hekl  in  the  First  Presliyterian  Cliurch,  of 
Newark,  in  October,  182;^>.  It  was  opened  with  a  sermon 
by  Doctor  John  WoodhuU,  of  FreehokL  Doctor  Archibald 
Alexander  was  the  first  ^Moderator. 

Doctor  Rodgers  gives  a  list  of  seventeen*  Presbyteries, 
which  had  been  under  the  care  of  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey. 
Six  of  the  seventeen,  viz.,  Jersey,  Caledonia,  Steuben,  Wyo- 
ming, INlontrose  and  Newark,  were  not  on  the  roll  of  the 
Synod  of  New  Jersey  in  1861,  Because: 

The  Presbytery  of  Jersey  had  been  divided  in  1824  into 
the  Presbyteries  of  Newark  and  Elizabethtown,  and  the  name 
Jersey  had  been  dropped  from  the  roll. 

Caledonia  was  divided  in  1842  into  the  two  Presbyteries 
of  Steuben  and  Wyoming,  and  the  name  Caledonia  was  also 
dropped.  In  1843  the  General  Assembly  attached  these 
two  Presbyteries,  Steuben  and  Wyoming,  to  the  Synod  of 
Buffido.  t 

Montrose  Presbytery  was  removed  from  the  Synod  of  New 
Jersey  by  the  division  of  1838,  and  Newark,  also,  until  1870. 


*  Seventeen  Presbyteries  under  the  care  of  Synod. 

NAMES.  WUKN    CONSTITUTED. 

New  Brunswick, l"i'38 

Jersey, 1809    Divided  in  1824. 

Newton, 1817 

Susquehanna, 1821 

Newark, 1824 

Elizaliethlown,  .  . 1824 

Montrose 1832 

Caledonia 1838    Divided  in  1842. 

Steuben, 1S42 1  Attached  to  Synod  of 

Wyoming, 1842  J       Buffalo  in  1S43. 

Raritan, 1839 

Luzerne, 1843 

West  Jer.sey v  •  1839 

Burlington, 1849 

Passaic, 1852 

Monmouth, 1859 

Coriseo 18C0 

t  Minutes  of  General  .Vssembly,  1S43,  p.  174. 


8  HISTORICAL   SKETCH   OF 

Therefore,  the  names  Jersey,  Caledonia,  Steuben  and 
Wyoming,  Montrose  and  Newark  (for  the  present),  are  dis- 
missed from  our  inquiry,  because  no  one  of  them  was  on  our 
roll  in  1861,  and  the  territory  of  most  of  them  belongs  to  the 
State  and  Synod  of  Pennsylvania. 

The  remainins"  eleven  Presbyteries  in  connection  with  the 
Synod  of  New  Jersey  in  1861  were  Susquehanna,  Luzerne,  New 
Brunswick,  Elizabethtown,  Raritan,  West  Jersey,  Burlington, 
Passaic,  Monmouth,  and  Corisco.         ^ewtoll. 

The  Presbytery  of  Susquehanna,  previously  known  as  the 
Luzerne  Association,  was  received  under  the  care  of  the  Synod 
of  New  York  and  New  Jersey  in  1821.  Largely  from  its 
territory  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne  was  constituted  in  1843. 
Now,  since  the  territory  of  both  Susquehanna  and  Luzerne 
lies  wholly  in  Pennsylvania,  further  notice  of  these  must  be 
relegated  to  the  future  historian  of  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania, 
while  we  restrict  our  present  inquiry  to  the  territory  which  the 
Synod  of  New  Jersey  now  occupies,  although  the  boundaries 
and  the  names  of  the  constituent  Presbyteries  have  been  greatly 
changed. 

Therefore,  having  dismissed  with  brief  mention  eight  of  the 
seventeen  Presbyteries,  the  nine  others  connected  with  the 
Synod  twenty-five  years  ago,  viz. :  New  Brunswick,  Newton, 
Elizabethtown,  Paritan,  West  Jersey,  Burlington,  Passaic, 
Monmouth  and  Corisco  together  with  the  changes  resultant 
from  the  reunion  of  1870  claim  our  immediate  and  special 
attention. 

PRESBYTERY  OF  NEW  BRUNSWICK,'  INCLUDING  RARITAN. 

First  and  foremost,  stands  the  old  historic  Presbytery  of 
New  Brunswick.  Upon  a  supplication  from  some  members 
of  the  Presbytery  of  New  York  to  be  erected  into  a  distinct 
Presbytery  with  some  of  the  members  of  the  Presbytery  of 
Philadelphia    overtured  that  their  petition  be  granted,  &c.* 

The  original  order  of  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia  f  made 

*  Records  Pres.  Ch.,  p.  136.        f  Records, Pres.  Ch.,  p.  136. 


THE   SYNOD    OF    NEW    JERSEY.  y 

the  bounds  of  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick  to  be :  All 
to  the  Northward  and  Eastward  of  IMaidenhead  (now 
Lawrcnceville)  and  Hopewell  (now  Pennington)  unto 
Raritan  River,  including  Staten  Island,  Piscatua,  Amboy, 
Bound  Brook,  Basking  Ridge,  Turkey,  (now  New  Provi- 
dence), Rocksiticus  (now  Mcndham),  Minisinks,  Pequally, 
and  Crosswicks,  to  be  designated  by  the  name  of  New 
Brunswick,  to  meet  on  the  second  Tuesday  of  August,  1738, 
at  New  Brunswick. 

Gilbert  Tennent,  John  Cross,  Eleazcr  Wales,  William 
Tennent,  Samuel  Blair  were  the  original  members  from  the 
Presbytery  of  New  York.*  At  an  earlier  session  of  the  same 
meeting  of  Synod  in  1738,  the  Presbytery  of  New  York  had 
been  constituted  by  the  union  of  the  members  of  East  Jersey 
Presbytery  with  those  of  Long  Island  Presbytery. f 

The  Presbytery  of  New  York  at  its  organization  in  1738 
included  in  New  Jersey  the  churches  of  Woodbridge,  Han- 
over, Elizabethtown,  Westfield,  Newark  and  Connecticut 
Farms.;}: 

The  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick  encircling  the  College 
and  Seminary  of  Princeton,  and  holding  them  as  its  peculiar 
treasure  has  always  occupied  a  central  and  commanding 
position,  and  as  in  18G1,  so  it  is  now,  the  largest  among  the 
Presbyteries  of  Synod  in  the  number  of  ministers.  Its  present 
territory  includes  ^Mercer  county,  with  portions  of  INIiddlesex, 
and  Hunterdon.  In  two  more  years  this,  the  oldest  Presbytery 
in  the  State,  will  have  existed  a  century  and  a  half,  and  then 
the  150th  anniversary  of  its  birth  will  be  worthy  of  an  appro- 
priate commemoration. 

Presbytery  of  Raritan. — In  1870  the  Presbytery  of 
Raritan  was  merged  in  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick  and 
New  Brunswick  became  the  legal  successor  to  Raritan.  The 
Presbytery  of  Raritan  was  organized  in  1839  with  nine  min- 

*  See  Dr.  Hall's  History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Trenton,  p.  452. 

t  See  Pr.  Hall's  History ,'p.  49,  and  Records  of  Pres.  Church,  pp.  104, 134,  136. 

t  See  History  of  the  Presbytery  of  New  York,  p.  9,  by  S.  D.  Alexander,  D.  D. 


10  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

isters  and  fourteen  churches,  largely  from  the  Presbytery  of 
Newton.*  The  names  of  some  of  its  prominent  ministers  and 
churches  will  help  to  identify  its  position.  Among  its  Pas- 
tors were  Kirkpatrick,  Studdiford,  Olmstead,  Campbell,  and 
H.  W.  Hunt,  and  among  its  churches,  Amwell  United  First, 
Amwell  Second,  Lambertville,  Flemington,  Pleasant  Grove. 
During  the  thirty  years  of  its  existence  its  ministers  increased 
from  nine  to  nineteen  :  its  churches  from  fourteen  to  eighteen 
and  the  number  of  its  communicants  M^as  nearly  doubled. 

PRESBYTERY    OF    NEWTON. 

The  Presbytery  of  Newton,  next  to  New  Brunswick  the 
oldest  in  the  State,  was  composed  of  those  members  and  con- 
gregations of  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick,  which  lie 
north  and  west  of  a  line  drawn  from  the  Delaware  River  so 
as  to  include  the  congregations  of  Amwell,  Flemington,  Lam- 
ington  and  Basking  Ridge,  and  extended  also  into  Pennsyl- 
vania. It  included  originally  some  of  the  territory  which 
was  subsequently  transferred  to  the  Presbytery  of  Raritan. 
It  now  comprises  the  counties  of  Sussex  and  Warren  and  a 
small  portion  of  Hunterdon  County. 

In  1867  the  Presbytery  of  Newton  celebrated  its  semi- 
centennial, when  the  Rev.  D.  X.  Junkin  gave  an  exhaustive 
history,  which  was  published  in  a  pamphlet  of  one  hundred 
and  six  pages.  From  a  review  of  statistics  and  narratives 
the  conclusion  is  irresistible  that  the  Presbytery  of  Newton, 
nestled  amid  her  beautiful  hills  and  lovely  valleys,  with  an 
endowed  institution  for  the  education  of  her  sons  and  daughters, 
is  in  proportion  to  population  better  supplied  with  Presby- 
terian Church  accommodations  than  any  other  equal  portion 
of  the  State  and,  in  comparison  with  other  Presbyteries,  has 
in  unwonted  degree,  enjoyed  the  dews  of  Divine  Grace  and 
large  accessions  to  its  roll  of  communicants. 

*D.  X.  Junkin's  History  of  Newton  Presbytery,  pp.  16  and  17. 


THE   SYNOD    OF    NEW    JERSEY.  11 

PRESBYTERY  OF    ELIZABETHTOWN,    INCLUDING    ELIZABETH. 

By  the  division  of  the  old  Presbytery  of  Jersey  into  the 
Presbyteries  of  Elizabethtown  and  Newark  the  Presbytery  of 
Elizabethtown  was  constituted  in  1824. 

The  names  of  some  churches  will  indicate  the  extent  and 
influence  of  the  Presbytery  of  Elizabethtown.  In  18G1  it 
had  on  its  roll  of  churches,  Elizabethtown  Eirst,  Railway 
First,  Kahway  Second,  Woodbridge  First,  Basking  Ridge, 
Plainfield  First,  Metuchen  First.  In  1870  it  had  only  one 
more  church  than  in  1825.  A  reason  for  its  apparently  small 
increase  will  appear  hereafter  in  a  notice  of  the  organization 
of  the  Presbytery  of  Passaic* 

The  Presbytery  of  Elizabeth  in  1870  became  the  legal 
successor  to  the  Presbytery  of  Elizabethtown.  Its  territory 
is  now  mainly  in  Union  and  Somerset  Counties  and  a  portion 
of  Hunterdon  along  the  line  of  the  New  Jersey  Central  Rail- 
road. A  knowledge  of  its  historic  churches  may  be  obtained 
from  Doctor  Hatfield's  exhaustive  history  of  Elizabethtown. 

PRESBYTERY    OF    WEST   JERSEY. 

The  Presbytery  of  West  Jersey  organized  in  1839  is  already 
preparing  to  commemorate  its  semi-centennial.  Some  of  the 
members  of  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  desirous  of  a 
separate  organization,  on  several  occasions  brought  the  subject 
before  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia,  but  that  body  declined  at 
each  time  to  entertain  the  proi^osal.  At  length,  they  de- 
termined to  present  their  case  by  a  petition  to  the  General 
Assembly  of  1839.  This  petition  having  been  placed  in  the 
hands  of  the  Committee  on  Overtures,  they  declined  reporting 
the  subject  to  the  General  Assembly  on  the  ground  that  the 
constitutional  course  would  be,  first,  to  lay  the  case  before  the 
Synod  of  Philadelphia  for  their  action  upon  it.  Accordingly, 
the  substance  of  the  petition  was  again  brought  before  the 
Synod  of  Philadelphia  in  October,  1839.  After  discussion 
and  opposition  it  was  resolved  to  grant  the  request.     On  the 

*See  pp.  IGaiid  17. 


12  HISTOEICAL   SKETCH   OF 

5th  of  November,  1839,  the  Presbytery  of  West  Jersey  was 
organized  with  ten  ministers  and  thirteen  churches.* 

The  Synod  of  Philadelphia  refused  to  concur  in  an  appli- 
cation to  the  General  Assembly,  to  transfer  the  Presbytery  to 
the  Synod  of  New  Jersey,  but  the  General  Assembly  of  1843 
granted  the  petition  of  the  Presbytery  of  West  Jersey  to  be 
set  oiF  from  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia  and  attached  to  the 
Synod  of  New  Jersey,  f 

Since  1870  its  territory  has  been  limited  to  the  six  southern 
counties  of  the  State,  or  all  south  of  Burlington  county. 
Notwithstanding  a  diminution  of  territory  and  consequent 
surrender  of  some  churches,  the  Presbytery  has  increased 
since  its  organization  three  and  one-half  fold,  thus  proving 
the  wisdom  of  its  separation  from,  metropolitan  oversight. 

PRESBYTERY    OF    MONMOUTH,    INCLUDING    BURLINGTON. 

The  next  in  order  of  organization  among  extant  Presbyteries 
is  Monmouth,  which  dates  from  1859.  It  became  in  1870 
the  legal  successor  to  the  Presbytery  of  Burlington  and 
absorbed  its  territory.  The  two  Presbyteries  are  not  identical, 
yet  their  history  is  closely  identified. 

Monmouth  Presbytery  was  formed  wholly  from  New  Bruns- 
wick Presbytery  in  1859,  with  twelve  ministers  and  twelve 
or  thirteen  churches.  It  now  comprises  the  counties  of  Mon- 
mouth, Ocean  and  Burlington,  with  some  churches  on  the  line 
of  the  Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad  in  Middlesex  and  Mercer 
Counties.  By  reconstruction  and  active  missionary  effort  it 
has  increased  nearly  four-fold  in  twenty-five  years.  It  has 
a  large  missionary  field  which  it  has  diligently  cultivated,  thus 
justifying  the  design  for  which  it  was  originally  constituted. 

The  Presbytery  of  Burlington  was  formed  in  1849 
from  the  Presbyteries  of  New  Brunswick  and  West  Jersey.  It 
was  strengthened  in  1851  by  the  addition  of  Allentown  and 
in  1859  by  adding  the  city  of  Camden.     Doctor  Cortland 

*  Pres.  West  Jersey  Records,  Vol.  1,  pp.  1-7. 
t  Min.  G.  A.  18«,  p.  174. 


THE    SYNOD    OF    NEW    JERSEY.  13 

Van  Kcnsselacr  was  the  father  of  this  Presbytery.  Being  a 
small  body,  it  was  able  to  visit  its  small  ehurclies.  In  the 
twenty-one  years  of  its  existence  the  ministers  of  Burlington 
Presbytery  increased  from  six  to  eleven ;  its  churches  from 
eight  to  fourteen  and  its  communicants  from  199  to  1190. 
Its  more  complete  history  is  worthy  of  preparation  and  pres- 
ervation. In  1870  the  greater  part  of  its  territory  was 
transferred  to  the  Presbytery  of  INIonmouth. 

PRESBYTERY  OF  CORISCO. 

The  one  other  Presbytery  which  was  on  the  roll  of  Synod 
twenty-five  years  ago  is  Corisco.  In  the  statistical  tables  of 
the  General  Assembly  the  Presbytery  of  Corisco  appears  for 
the  first  time  in  the  Minutes  of  1861.  Doctor  Nassau  in  his 
Historical  Sketch  says  that  it  was  organized  about  1859. 
Doctor  Rodgers  says  in  INIay,  1860,  and  that  it  was  taken 
under  the  care  of  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey  at  their  0A\n  re- 
quest in  October,  1860.  (He  refers  to  the  Minutes  of  General 
Assembly,  1838,  p.  42  and  to  Baird's  Digest  of  1856,  p.  365.) 

A  mission  had  been  established  on  the  island  of  Corisco  by 
our  Presbyterian  Board  in  1850  and  was  successfully  extended 
northward.  Eight  years  previously  (in  1842)  a  mission  had 
been  located  in  the  estuary  of  Gaboon,  under  the  American 
Board  of  Commissioners,  which  after  many  reverses  was  finally 
in  1870  formally  transferred  to  the  Presbyterian  Board  for 
Foreign  Missions  and  incorporated  with  the  Corisco  Mission, 
whose  official  name  Avas  then  changed  to  the  Gaboon  and 
Corisco  Mission.  That  Mission  of  the  American  Board  in 
the  Gaboon  District  in  1842  was  really  a  transfer  of  a  Mission 
begun  eight  years  before  at  Cape  Pal  mas,  where  Messrs.  Wil- 
son, Walker,  and  Bushnell  had  labored.  Manifestly,  there  is 
an  unwritten  history  of  toil,  suffering  and  sacrifice,  during 
another  quarter  of  a  century  from  1834  to  1860,  antedating 
and  preparing  the  way  for  the  Presbytery  of  Corisco,  which 
now  supervises  all  the  churches  in  our  Mission  on  the  West 
coast  of  Africa,  near  the  equator. 


14  HISTORICAL,   SKETCH   OF 

Ogove  district  was  occupied  in  1874  and  progress  has  been 
made  along  the  Ogove  River  into  the  interior. 

So  many  sons  and  daughters  have  gone  from  beloved  homes 
in  New  Jersey  :  so  many  have  sacrificed  their  lives  for  the  re- 
demption of  Africa :  so  many  bound  to  you  by  the  tenderest 
ties  of  kindred  and  affection  are  now  enduring  the  greatest 
trials,  as  your  special  representativ^es  to  the  heathen  in  that  far 
distant  land,  that  Corisco,  the  smallest  and  the  weakest  among 
the  sisterhood  of  Presbyteries,  must  not  be  forgotten.  Surely 
she  has  not  been  placed  under  the  care  of  this  Synod  merely 
as  a  formal  ecclesiastical  convenience,  but  rather  to  claim  our 
sjjecial  sympathy  and  protection. 

The  regularity  of  its  Presbyterial  reports  to  the  Synod  and 
to  the  Assembly,  and  the  columns  in  its  statistical  tables  often 
well  filled  with  contributions  to  all  the  Boards  of  the  Church 
in  this  country,  are  worthy  of  notice  and  praise.  Labors  ex- 
pended under  great  privation  have  not  been  in  vain  as  the 
Narratives  of  Synod  year  by  year  attest,  e.  g.  In  1868,* 
thirty  new  members  were  reported  to  have  joined  the  cate- 
chumen class  in  one  church.  Again  in  1872f  in  one  of  the 
churches  there  had  been  a  continued  revived  state  among  the 
Christians  and  a  deep  religious  interest  among  the  heathen 
and  as  the  result^  twenty-five  converts  were  added  to  the  Lord. 
At  the  same  time  Presbytery  reported  as  under  its  care  five 
Candidates  for  the  ministry.  Again  the  Narrative  of  1876 
said  one-sixth  of  the  entire  membership  belonging  to  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Corisco  has  been  added  on  confession  of  faith  during 
the  past  year  and  mentions  many  other  tokens  of  encourage- 
ment. J  Your  Narrative  of  1879  said,  the  far  away  Presby- 
tery of  Corisco  sends  the  most  encouraging  report  of  all  the 
Presbyteries  of  this  Synod.  || 

In  recent  years  the  w'ork  has  been  prosecuted  under  peculiar 
difficulties,  due  largely  to  the  obstructions  placed  in  the  way 

*See  Minutes  of  Synod,  1868,  p.  10. 
tJbirf.  1872,  p.  31.       '    . 
JJ&irf.  1876,  pp.  38,  39. 
Ij  Ibid.  1879,  p.  48. 


THE   SYNOD   OF   NEW   JERSEY.  1^ 

by  the  French  rulers  of  tlie  coast.  Verily,  Corisco  claims 
our  more  abundant  sympathy  and  more  earnest  prayers  that 
those  obstacles  may  be  removed  and  that  a  highway  may  be 
opened  for  the  Gospel  along  the  Ogove  River  to  the  very 
heart  of  Africa.  Although  a  broad  ocean  rolls  between  us, 
the  names  Corisco,  Benita,  Baraka,  Ogove,  Kangwe,  Tala- 
guga,  send  a  thrill  of  joy,  or  a  pang  of  sorrow  to  many  hearts 
and  homes  in  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey.  * 

CHANGES   BY   EECX)NSTRUCTION. 

In  1870  reconstruction  revolutionized  the  Synod.  A  large 
portion  of  its  territory  was  transferred  to  the  Synod  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  an  important  accession  was  gained  by  the  coming 
in  of  Newark  and  Rockaway,  and  two  entirely  new  Presby- 
teries were  formed.  The  one  was  Jersey  City  and  the  other 
was  Morris  and  Orange,  the  latter  including  the  previously 
existing  Presbyteries  Passaic  and  Rockaway. 

PRESBYTERY   OF  NEYv^ARK. 

As  already  stated,  Newark  Presbytery  was  constituted  with 
its  twin  sister  Elizabethtown  by  the  division  of  the  old  Pres- 
bytery of  Jersey  in  1824,  and  is  therefore  only  one  year 
younger  than  the  Synod  itself. 

The  Presbytery  of  Newark  has  been  a  part  of  the  Synod  of 
New  Jersey  with  the  exception  of  the  period  from  1838  to 
]  870,  during  which  it  belonged  to  the  Synod  of  New  York 
and  New  Jersey.  Its  territory  was  large  as  the  names  of 
some  of  its  churches  will  indicate.  The  strength  which  it 
added  to  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey  will  more  fully  appear  by 
a  glance  at  its  roll  in  1870  when  it  reported  fifty-eight 
ministers;,  thirty-five  churches,  8,104  communicants  who  gave 
for  congregational  purposes  $138,444.  It  then  had  in  the  city 
of  Newark  nine  churches,  including  two  German  and  one 
colored  church,  besides  Madison,  Orange  First  and  Second ; 

*See  also  Dr.  Aikman's  Report  in  Minutes  of  Synod  1883,  pp,  37  and  39. 


16  -  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

Soutli  Orange ;  Morristown  South  Street ;  Paterson  Second ; 
Caldwell,  Plainfield,  Elizabeth  Third,  and  Montclair,  each  with 
a  membership  of  from  200  to  510,  and  these  twenty  churches 
reporting  6,667  members,  or  an  average  of  333  members  each. 
Now,  with  a  smaller  and  compact  territory  Newark  Presbytery 
exerts  an  influence  inferior  to  none. 

PRESBYTERY    OF  JERSEY  CITY. 

The  Presbytery  of  Jersey  City,  constituted  in  1870,  com- 
prises the  counties  of  Bergen,  Passaic,  and  Hudson.  It  has 
thirty-eight  ministers  and  twenty-nine  churches.  Its  strongest 
churches  are  in  Englewood,  Paterson  and  Jersey  City.  In- 
cluding these  places  and  Hoboken  it  has  a  large  field,  with  a 
large  German  element,  and  it  has]  very  diligently  prosecuted 
the  work  of  church  extension. 

PRESBYTERY   OF    MORRIS    AND    ORANGE,   INCLUDING 
PASSAIC   AND    ROCKAWAY. 

Last  upon  our  present  roll  and  not  least  among  our  Pres- 
byterial  tribes  is  Morris  and  Orange.  Beautiful  for  situation, 
this  Presbytery  enjoys  and  combines  the  wealth  and  refinement 
of  the  city  with  the  pleasures  and  virtues  of  country  life.  In 
1881,  the  beloved  Dr.  David  Irving  reviewed  the  progress  of 
this  Presbytery  in  a  decennial  discourse,  which  was  published. 
At  its  organization  in  1870  the  Presbytery  of  Morris  and 
Orange  became  the  legal  successor  to^  the  two  Presbyteries, 
Passaic  and  Rockaway,  which  must  now  be  noticed. 

The  Presbytery  of  Passaic  was  formed  out  of  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Elizabethtown  by  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey  in  1852, 
and  was  organized  in  Paterson,  November  10th  of  that  year. 
It  began  with  seventeen  ministers  and  fourteen  churches- 
Some  of  these  Avere  among  the  largest  of  the  parent  Presbytery, 
such  as  Elizabethtown  Second,  Newark  Third,  Morristown 
First,  Morristown  Second,  Paterson  First,  and  Connecticut 
Farms.       These    six    churches    had    1959'  members,    or    an 


THE   SYNOD   OF   NEW   JERSEY.  17 

average  of  326  each.  This  Presbytery  reported  in  1870 
twenty-nine  ministers  and  nineteen  churches  and  3G62  mem- 
bers. One  should  add  the  statistics  of  this  Passaic  Presbytery 
in  1870  to  those  of  Elizabeth  in  order  to  estimate  the  growth 
of  the  parent  Presbytery,  Elizabethtown,  in  the  previous 
eighteen  years. 

Presby^tery  of  Rookaway. — By  the  General  Assembly 
meeting  in  the  First  Church  of  Philadelphia  in  1839,  it  was 
ordered  to  divide  the  Presbytery  of  Newark,  and  to  erect  the 
Presbytery  of  Rockaway  to  meet  at  Parsippany  on  the  third 
Tuesday  of  June,  to  be  o})ened  by  Rev.  Barnabas  King. 

It  was  also  ordered  that  with  these  two  Presbyteries  and  the 
Presbytery  of  Montrose  the 

SYNOD    OF   NEWARK. 

be  erected  to  meet  on  the  third  Tuesday  of  October,  and  to  be 
opened  with  a  sermon  by  Asa  Hillyer,  T>.  J). 

The  Presbytery  of  Rockaway  had  at  its  organization,  chiefly 
in  Sussex  and  Morris  Counties,  sixteen  ministers  and  fifleen 
churches  and  brought  into  the  Presbytery  of  INIorris  and 
Orange  at  reunion  eighteen  ministers,  twenty  churches  and 
2230  communicants.  The  chief  churches  of  Rockaway  Pres- 
bytery in  1870  were  Rockaway,  Harmony  First,  Boonton, 
Wantage  Second,  Dover,  and  Mendham  Second. 

The  Synod  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey  was  formed  by 
the  union  of  the  Synod  of  Newark  and  the  Synod  of  New 
York  in  1840.* 

REUNION. 

In  the  survey  of  twenty-five  years  it  seemed  needful  to 
sketch  in  close  connection  the  Presbyteries  of  both  th^  Old 
and  the  Reconstructed  Synods,  Now  let  us  turn  to  1870  and 
notice  the  Reunion  which  made  reconstruction  possible, 

A  comparison  of  the  territory  of  the  old  and  of  the  new 
Synod  and  the  relative  condition  of  the  churches  will  help  us 

*  See  Minutes  G.  A.  (N.  S.)  1840,  p.  18. 


18  HISTORICAL   SKETCH   OF 

to  understand  the  effects  of  the  Reunion.  When  the  means 
of  communication  between  the  two  great  cities  New  York 
and  Philadelphia  were  slow  and  tedious  it  was  natural  that 
those  cities  should  be  the  ecclesiastical  as  well  as  the  commer- 
cial centres  for  a  large  scope  of  surrounding  country.  Thus 
the  churches  of  West  or  South  Jersey  were  attached  to  the 
Presbytery  and  Synod  of  Philadelphia  until  convinced  that 
this  provincial  dependence  was  not  advantageous,  when  they  in- 
dependently and  boldly  undertook  to  manage  their  own  affairs. 
In  like  manner,  the  chui'ches  of  East  Jersey  gravitated  towards 
New  York,  expecting  advantage  from  their  metropolitan  re- 
lations. Since  communication  through  and  throughout  the 
State  has  become  rapid,  and  since  the  different  sections  are 
bound  more  closely  together  with  bands  of  steel,  the  tendency 
has  been  to  Home-Rule  in  the  Church  as  well  as  in  the  State. 
In  1861  the  Synod  extended  hundreds  of  miles  into  Penn- 
sylvania *  and  while  in  New  Jersey  it  covered  nominally  the 
State  with  the  exception  of  the  Presbyteries  of  Newark  and 
Rockaway,  yet  it  had  not  exclusive  Presbyterial  jurisdiction 
over  the  territory  which  it  occupied. 

CHURCHES  OF  EXTERNAL.  PRESBYTERIES. 

The  Presbytery  of  Brooklyn  led  by  Doctor  Samuel  H.  Cox 
established  a  foreign  mission  in  the  Pines  of  New  Jersey  at 
Manchester  in  1842. 

At  some  time  during  the  period  from  1840  to  1870 

The  Presbytery  of  Netv  York  had  two  churches  in  Jersey 
City,  the  First  and  the  Scotch,  and  oncin  Weehawken  ; 

The  Presbytery  of  New  York  Second  had  a  church  at 
Tenafly ; 

The  Presbytery  of  New  York  Third  had  two  churches  in 
Jersey  City,  the  Second  and  Bergen  First,  and  two  in  Hobo- 
ken,  the  First  and  the  West ; 

The  Presbytery  of  New  York  Fourth  had  a  church  at 
Englewood. 

*  See  Doctor  Rodgers'  Discourse,  page  10.  . 


THE   SYNOD   OF   NEW    JERSEY.  19 

The  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  Fourth  had  churches  at 
Bethlehem,  Belvidere  Second,  Alexandria  First,  Beverly, 
Fairview,  Atco,  Vineland,  Bridgeton  Second,  Fairfield  and 

Cedarville. 

Thus  six  Presbyteries  which  were  foreign  to  the  State  had 
twenty  churches  upon  the  soil  of  New  Jersey.  In  the  larger 
towns  and  cities,  side  by  side  were  churches  under  ditferent 
Presbyteries  of  the  State.  Presbyteries  were  interlocked, 
with  conflict  of  jurisdiction  and  jealousies,  so  that  it  was  diffi- 
cult for  some  holding  the  same  standards  to  dwell  together  in 
cordial  sympathy,  if  in  apparent  peace. 

Verily,  there  was  occasion  to  reiterate  our  Saviour's  prayer 
for  unity,' "That  they  all  maybe  one,  that  the  world  may 
believe  that  Thou  hast  sent  Me."  Some  deplored  the  evils  and 
the  difficulty;  but  how  to  accomplish  a  remedy  was  the  super- 
human problem.     Here  we  raise  the  monumental  inscription, 

"  Hitherto  hath  the  Lord  helped  us." 
This  is  the  Lord's  doing ;   it  is  marvellous  in  our  eyes. 

Reunion  came,  followed  by  Reconstruction:  order 
sprang  out  of  confusion  :  harmony  out  of  discord.  As  in  the 
Church  at  large  so  in  New  Jersey  the  way  was  prepared 
gradually.  In  October,  1868,  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey  met 
in  the  Third  Presbyterian  Church  of  Newark  and  the  Synod 
of  New  York  and  Now  Jersey  met  in  the  First  Presbyterian 
church  of  the  same  city.  The  committees  on  religious  exercises 
of  each  Synod  held  a  conference  together  and  upon  their  joint 
recommendation  the  two  Synods  unital,  first  in  a  meeting  for 
prayer  and  conference  in  the  Third  Church,  on  Tuesday  even- 
ing, presided  over  by  the  two  Moderators,  and  on  the  next  day 
the'synod  of  New  Jersey  adjourned  to  meet  with  the  Synod 
of  New  York  and  New  Jersey  for  the  purpose  of  celebrating 
the  Lord's  Supper  at  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 

afternoon. 

In  the  morning  of  that  day  and  before  the  coranunuon, 
the  following  resolution,  offered  by  Doctor  J.  H.  Mcllvaine, 
was  adopted  by  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey : 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH,  NEWARK,   N.J. 
Corner  Stone  laid  September,  1787.    Opened  for  worship  .January  1, 1791. 

Chapel  Dedicated  June,  1873. 


THE   SYNOD   OF   NEW   JERSEY.  21 

Resolved,  That  in  the  judgmont  of  this  Syncxl,  such  an 
ao-recment  in  doctrine  and  such  a  degree  of  mutual  confidence 
and  k.ve  now  exist  between  the  Old  and  the  New  School 
Branches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  as  are  contemplated  in 
the  following  resolution  of  the  General  Assembly  of  1866. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Assembly  expresses  its  fraternal  affec- 
tion for  the  other  Branch  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  and  its 
earnest  desire  for  reunion  at  the  earliest  time  consistent  with 
agreement  in  doctrine,  order  and  polity  on  the  basis  of  our 
common  standards  and  the  prevalence  of  mutual  confidence 
and  love,  which  are  necessary  to  a  happy  union  and^  to  the 
permanent  peace  and  prosperity  of  the  United  Church." 

And,  consequently  that  the  reunion  between  the  two  bodies 
ought  in  the  judgment  of  this  Synod  to  be  consummated 
without  unnecessary  delay  * 

In  the  next  year,  1869  it  was 

Resolved,  That  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey  in  session  'at 
Rahway  send  fraternal  greetings  to  the  Synod  of  New  York 
and  New  Jersey  in  session  at  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.,  and  re- 
joice in  the  coming  closer  union  spiritually  and  ecclesiastically. 

The  telegraph  on  the  next  day  brought  the  following 
response : 

The  Synod  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey  in  session  at 
Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.,  cordially  respond  to  the  Fraternal 
Greetings  of  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey  in  session  at  Rahway, 
N.  J.,  looping  and  believing  that  the  coming  union  will  prove 
that  we  are  one  in  Christ  Jesus,  f 

At  Elizabeth  in  1870  all  parts  of  the  two  Synods  dwelling 
in  New  Jersey  blended  into  one  Synod  and  now,  like  those 
who  are  embarked  upon  a  reconstructed  ship,  sailing  towards 
the  open  sea— borne  onward  by  prosperous  winds,  no  one 
of  us  can  tell  from  the  deep  blue  of  the  commingled  waves 

•  Minutes  of  Synod  1868,  p.  8.     t  ■^f'''*- 1869,  pp.  8  and  16. 


22  HISTORICAL  SKETCH   OF 

whether  these   came  from   the   Raritan  or   those   from   the 
Passaic. 

As  we  bend  our  gaze  to  the  voyage  which  is  beyond,  let  us 
raise  aloft  our  banner  and  inscribe  upon  it — Hitherto  hath  the 
Lord  helped  us — and  looking  backward  upon  our  course 
during  a  quarter  of  a  century  notice  the  progress  in  educa- 
tion; in  systematic  beneficence;  in  church  extension,  and  in 
spiritual  results. 

EDUCATION  AND   SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. 

It  is  no  new  thing  for  the  Presbyterian  Church  to  give 
attention  to  the  young.  In  Sunday-schools  there  has  been 
progress.  In  1861  and  1862  a  committee  of  this  Synod  urged 
a  revision  of  the  Directory  for  Worship,  so  as  to  recognize  the 
true  relation  of  the  Session  and  Pastor  to  the  Sunday-school, 
and  was  instructed  to  address  an  overture  to  the  General 
Assembly  on  this  topic* 

The  Narratives  notice  how  public  services  for  children ; 
stated  preaching  to  them ;  catechetical  instruction ;  greater  care 
in  selecting  libraries;  also  Sunday-school  Institutes,  all  indicate 
correct  views  of  the  relation  of  the  Sunday-school  to  the 
Church  and  a  growing  interest  in  the  work.f  It  should 
therefore  fill  us  with  gratitude  rather  than  with  surprise 
when  we  hear  of  fruit  gathered  from  our  Sunday-schools 
and  that  of  twenty-two  added  to  one  church,  twenty  were 
from  the  Sunday-school, |  and  of  another  that  all  the  scholars 
above  twelve  years  of  age  are  in  the  communion  of  the 
church.  1 1  So  again  do  we  quote  with  approval  the  saying, 
that  the  lambs  of  the  flock  have  a  right  to  be  marked  with  the 
name  of  the  Shepherd  who  owns  them  :  and  repeat  the  Ger- 
man proverb,  that  we  may  appreciate  its  spiritual  meaning, 
"From  the  Home  to  the  School;  from  the  School  to  the 
Church;  from  the  Church  to  Heaven." 

*  See  MSS.  Minutes  1861,  p.  259,  and  Ibid.  1862,  p.  317. 

t  Minutes  of  Synod,  1874,  p.  38.     |  Ihid,  188^,  p.  88. 

II  Westminster  at  Elizabeth,  Minutes  of  Synod,  1875,  p.  4t. 


THE   SYNOD   OF   NEW   JERSEY.  23 

The  relation  of  the  Synod  to  the  College  of  New  Jersey 
and  to  tlie  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton  needs  no  eluci- 
dation here ;  but  Synod,  with  gratitude,  may  call  to  mind  the 
large  endowments,  which  the  Lord  has  sent  from  diiferent 
quarters  to  these  institutions  during  the  last  twenty-five  years. 

In  this  same  period  the  German  Theological  Seminary,  now 
located  at  Bloomfield,  for  the  training  of  ministers  to  lalx)r 
among  our  German  population  has  come  into  existence  by  the 
fostering  care  of  the  Presbytery  of  Newark  and  claims  our 
sympathy.  In  1874  the  first  class  of  eight  young  men  was 
graduated. 

The  Narratives  frequently  mention  a  work  of  grace  in 
academic  institutions,  as  at  Bridgeton,  Blairstown,  Lawrence- 
ville,  and  other  places.  It  would  be  a  valuable  contribution 
which  shall  give  the  history  of  Presbyterial  Academies  and 
Female  Seminaries  established  in  all  the  chief  towns  through- 
out this  Synod.* 

BENEVOLENCE   AND   BENEFICENCE. 

There  has  been  a  great  advance  in  Christian  benevolence 
and  systematic  beneficence.  The  increase  in  the  number  of 
the  objects  is  worthy  of  notice.  At  the  organization  of  Synod  f 
the  statistical  tables  contained  only  five  columns  for  the  reports 
of  contributions.  Two  of  these.  The  Presbyterial  Fund  and 
The  Commissioners  were  virtually  the  same,  and  are  now 
usually  combined  under  the  "General  Assembly"  column. 
Two  others,  for  the  Theological  Seminary  and  for  Education, 
were  very  similar  if  not  identical;  "svhile  one  Missionary 
column  included  all  other  benevolent  contributions.  The 
columns  for  missionary  and  benevolent  gifts  are  now  increased 
to  nine,  besides  the  three  columns  for  the  General  Assembly, 
for  Congregational  expenses,  and  the  Miscellaneous  making 
twelve  in  all.  This  increase  of  calls  has  secured  fuller  returns 
and  larger  gifts.  % 

*  See  Minutes  of  Synod  1864,  p.  7 ;  1865,  p.  16;  1872,  p.  34;  1876,  p.  40;  1885,  p.  40. 
tSee  Minutes  General  Assembly,  1826. 

X  See  Narratives  in  Minutes  of  Synod,  1868,  p.  12;  1871,  pp.  18  and  20;  1872,  p.  32; 
1882,  p.  22. 


24  HISTORICAL  SKETCH   OF 

The  organized  eiforts  of  Christian  Women,  first  in  behalf 
of  Foreign  Missions,  and  later  for  Home  Missions,  have 
grown  with  the  progress  of  this  quarter  of  a  century. 

Synod's  own  efficient  Standing  Committee  on  systematic 
beneficence  has  aimed  to  secure  collections  from  every  church 
to  all  the  Boards;  to  promote  weekly  offerings  and  proportion- 
ate giving  as  well  as  to  increase  the  aggregate  of  contributions. 

Among  the  sisterhood  of  Presbyteries,  Morris  and  Orange 
is  frequently  mentioned  as  setting  a  noble  and  notable  ex- 
ample. * 

Doctor  Hodge rs  in  his  Historical  Discourse  gives  two 
interesting  points  for  comparison.  He  comforts  himself  with 
the  thought  that  only  two  Synods,  those  of  New  York  and 
Philadelphia  had  paid  to  the  Board  of  Domestic  Missions 
more  than  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey.  At  the  same  time  he 
lamented  that  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey  was  one  of  the 
Synods  which  drew  out  of  the  treasury  of  the  Board  of 
Domestic  Missions  more  than  it  paid  into  it ;  for  it  drew  out 
for  its  forty-six  f  missionaries,  $6,803.99,  and  paid  in  1861  into 
the  treasury,  $6,278.51.  In  recent  years  this  Synod,  by  the 
combined  gifts  of  the  churches,  its  women  and  its  Sunday- 
schools,  has  paid  to  the  Board  of  Home  Missions,  from 
$25,000  to  $30,000  annually,  while  in  1885-86  it  paid  to  the 
Board,  $44,904.21,  and  received  from  the  Board  for  its  fifty- 
seven  missionaries,  $9,849.02. J 

*  See  Minutes  of  Synod,  1873,  p.  16 ;  1875,  p.  46 ;  1883,  p.  86. 

t  Doctor  Rodgers  also  classified  the  Missionaries  in  1860-61  thus : 

In  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick 2 

"                "           "    Elizabethtown, 2 

"                "          "   Passaic, 1 

"                "           "    Newton,. 5 

"                "           "    Raritan, 2 

"  "  "    Luzerne, .  13 

"                "           "    West  Jersey 9 

"                "           "    Burlington, • 3 

"                "           "   Susquehanna, 6 

"                "           "    Monmouth, 3 

Of  whom  nineteen  or  more  were  in  Pennsylvania.  46 

JSee  Report  of  the  Board  of  Home  Missions,  1886,  pp.  2  and  112. 


THE  SYNOD   OF  NEW   JERSEY. 


25 


Doctor  Rotlgers  estimated  that  the  collections  of  the  Synod 
for  the  year  1861  for  benevolent  missionary  and  miscellaneous 
objects  amounted  to  twenty-five  thousand  dollars.*  In  1862 
they  amounted  to  $52,359.  The  sum  of  all  the  contributions 
for  similar  purposes,  according  to  the  Minutes  of  the  General 
Assembly  of  1886,  exclusive  of  congregational  expenses, 
amounted  to  $327,610,  adding  for  congregational  expenses 
$688  443,  we  have  a  total  of  $l,016,053.t  If  sometimes 
we  complain  and  urge  our  churches  to  do  more,  it  is  also  fitting 
when  we  notice  an  advance  from  tens  to  hundreds  of  thous- 
ands, and  even  a  million,  that  we  commend  the  liberality  of 
those  who  have  done  so  much.  ^^^_ 

♦  Synod  contributed  in  the  year  1860-Cl : 

To  the  Board  of  Domestic  Missions, S6,2(8  ol 

<€  «      Foreign  Missions, 8,128  43 

"       Education 2,652  76 

•'  "      Publication, I'^^'^  81 

"        Church  Extension  Committee, 1,38647 

Total  to  five  Boards,  .  .   .  819,808  98 
Adding  money  given  to  the  Disabled  Ministers'  Fund,  the  Bible,  Tract  and  Sunday- 
school  and  otherlnstitutions,  Doctor  Rodgers  says,  "We  may  safely  estimate  the 
collections  of  the  year  at  S25,(X)0.    Historical  Discourse,  p.  24. 

t  CONTRIBUTIONS  OF  SYNOD  OF  NEW  JERSEY. 

To  Benevolence 

See  Minutes  of  and    General  T^Congre- 

General     As-  Assembly  and  gational                loiai. 

semblv  in  Miscellaneous  Expenses. 

180.^                                 52,359  «163,285  «215,584 

187^                              197,840  V48,638  9^0,478 

lSfi5                              222,987  687,468  910,4^5 

S                             327,610  68«,443  1,016,053 

Contributions  reported  in  1886,  in  Minutes  of  General  Assembly. 

To  the  Board  of  Home  Missions ^fAll 

Foreign  Missions V/  J, 

Education aV^o 

Publication *'™° 

Churcli  Erection H  58,702 

Ministerial  Relief 11-"*^ 

Freed>nen J««2 

Sustentation ^'•^ 

Aid  for  Colleges °'?^ 

General  Assembly °'^ 

Miscellaneous ^^'^^^ 

$327,610 

H  Includes  $45,000  for  a  single  church.    See  Minutes  of  Synod,  1886,  p.  49. 


26  HISTORICAL  SKETCH   OF 

The  special  and  grand  memorial  offerings  following  Reunion 
belong  to  this  period.  In  1871  the  contributions  for  congre- 
gational expenses  being  affected  probably  by  memorial  offer- 
ings were  greater  than  in  1886  ;  but  the  contributions  for  all 
other  objects  have  largely  increased. 

CHURCH    EXTENSION   AND   HOME   MISSIONS. 

Hitherto  the  Lord  has  helped  the  Synod  in  the  work  of 
Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension.  In  some  large  cities, 
as  Newark  especially,  but  not  there  alone,  mission  schools 
have  resulted  in  large  accessions  of  members  and  sometimes 
have  grown  into  new  churches.  Some  churches  have  em- 
ployed a  female  missionary  to  lead  in  Mothers'  Prayer  Meet- 
ings ;  in  Helping  Hand  Societies ;  in  Industrial  Schools ;  to 
report  the  worthy  poor,  and  to  visit  from  house  to  house.* 

In  olden  times,  as  with  the  voice  of  a  clarion,  Thomas  P. 
Hunt  proclaimed  the  wants  and  predicted  the  growth  of  the 
great  missionary  field  in  the  coal  regions  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  in  comparison,  the  Pines  of  New  Jersey  were  lightly  es- 
teemed. After  reconstruction,  when  the  Synod  and  the  State 
became  conterminous,  the  Synod  turned  its  attention  to  the 
southern  half  of  the  State.  It  had  been  diligently  cultivated 
by  John  Brainerd,  more  than  a  century  ago ;  but  after  the 
Revolutionary  War  had  been  too  long  overlooked.  It  is 
difficult  for  strangers  to  understand  how  there  can  be  mis- 
sionary ground  in  a  State  so  old  and  so  highly  favored  as 
New  Jersey.  They  have  not  known  how  large  a  portion  of 
southern  New  Jersey  has  been  a  wilderness  of  pines.  Thirty- 
three  years  ago  there  were  no  railroads  in  the  southern  half 
of  the  State,  excepting  the  one  line,  via  Amboy  from  Phila- 
delphia to  New  York.  Since  that  time,  and  mainly  within  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  five  hundred  miles  of  railroad  have  been 
constructed,  reaching  to  every  important  town  and  all  along 
the  coast.     By  thus  increasing  the  facilities  of  transportation  ; 

•  See  Minutes  of  Synod,  1874,  Appendix,  pp.  38,  39  and  40, end  1877,  p.  68. 


THE  SYNOD   OF   NEW   JERSEY.  27 

by  opening  to  settlement  large  tracts  of  land,  which  had  been 
practically  inaccessible  ;  by  establishing  many  sea  side  resorts; 
by  the  consequent  increase  of  population  ;  by  all  these  results, 
the  southern  portion  of  New  Jersey  has  been  revolutionized 
and  the  Svnod  has  realized,  none  too  soon,  that  it  has  here  an 
important  and  inviting  field  for  Church  Extension. 

It  was  in  1872,  and  after  reunion  was  an  ac-complished  fact, 
that  a  resolution  was  adopted  for  the  appointment  of  a  stand- 
ing committee  to  consider  the  condition  and  prospects  of 
Church  Extension  and  Home  Missions,  and  to  report  annually 
the  need  and  progress  of  this  work.  That  resolution  fell  un- 
observed, like  one  of  the  smallest  of  seeds,  and  no  one  foresaw 
to  what  proportions  it  would  grow.  The  next  year,  1873,  at 
Washington,  the  committee  presented  an  extended  report, 
which  opened  the  way  for  enlarged  and  successful  efforts  for 
church  extension,  as  published  in  the  reports  of  the  committee 
for  each  succeeding  year.  It  was  a  remarkable  providential 
coincidence  that  without  any  preconcert  between  the  writers 
of  the  two  reports,  the  narrative  of  the  same  year,  1873,  con- 
cluded with  an  eloquent  and  unusual  argument  for  the  thorough 
evangelization  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey.  * 

STATISTICS   AND   GROWTH. 

It  is  impossible  to  make  a  comparison  of  statistics  for 
twenty-five  years  at  all  satisfactory,  because  of  the  great  and 
entire  change  of  territory  and  boundaries.  It  will  be  suffi- 
cient to  prepare  a  table  of  statistics  at  different  epochs.f  The 
growth  of  the  Synod  will  appear  by  a  comparison  of  these 
periods:  1823,  1861,  1886.  A  full  attendance  of  every 
minister  and  one  elder  from  each  church  would  have  made  in 
1823,  a  Synod  of  only  187  members;  and  in  1861,  a  Synod 
of  379  members;  and  would  now  make,  including  Corisco,  an 
assembly  of  680  ministers  and  elders,  thus : 

Ministers.  Churches.  Total. 

In  1823, 83  +        104  =  187 

"  1861, 185  +        194  =  379 

"  1886,   ......  391  +        289  =  680 

»  See  Minutes  of  Synod,  1873,  pp.  18-20.    tSee  p.  32. 


28  HISTORICAL   SKETCH   OF 

COMPARISON   OF    1871    AND    1886. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  obtain  reliable  statistics  of  the  recon- 
structed Synod  for  the  last  fifteen  years,  during  which  its 
territory  has  been  unchanged.  From  1871  to  1886  the  nine 
Presbyteries  continuing  the  same,  the  ministers  have  increased 
from  310  to  391;  the  churches  from  237  to  289;  and  com- 
municants from  37,912  to  50,302,  a  net  increase  of  81  minis- 
ters, 52  churches,  and  12,390  communicants  in  fifteen  years. 

Year.  P^^sby-        Ministers.       Churches.      Communicants.     E°x|end?tures.^ 

1871,  ....    9  310  237  37,912        $748,638.00 

1886,  ....    9  391  289  50,302  688,443.00 

SPIRITUAL   RESULTS. 

Omniscience  alone  can  estimate  the  spiritual  results  of  labor 
during  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Success,  or  growth,  or  useful- 
ness is  not  ahvays  nor  alone  to  be  measured  by  professed 
conversions.  A  few  added  to  a  small  church  may  be  more 
effective  and  valuable  relatively  than  the  many  added  to  a 
larger  church.  But  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature; 
to  proclaim  the  doctrines  of  grace  and  to  offer  a  free  salva- 
tion to  perishing  sinners  through  the  atonement  of  our  Lord 
and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  is  our  chief,  and  should  be  our  con- 
stant aim. 

The  earliest  years  of  the  period  under  review  were  years  of 
excitement  and  of  civil  war.  It  is  not  surprising  to  read  in 
the  Narratives,  such  words  as  these:  "There  has  been  no 
great  awakening.*  Most  of  the  Presbj'teries  lament  barren- 
iness  and  worldly-mindedness,  an  increase  of  Sabbath  desecra- 
.tion  and  intemperance ;"  f  and  yet  the  Narrative  of  1863,  | 
makes  mention  of  some  ingathering,  and  while  in  1864  there 
was  no  general  revival  of  religion,  nearly  all  the  churches 
reported  some  additions.  Similar  to  this  was  the  tone  of  the 
Narratives  for  1865,  and  1867,  and  1868. 

The  Narrative  of  1866  reviewing  the  preceding  year  said, 

*MSS.  Minutes  of  Synod,  1861,  p.  256.      \Ihid.,  1863,  p.  349.      %  Ibid.  p.  283. 


THE  SYNOD   OF   NEW   JERSEY.  29 

"Already  tliore  was  seen  to  be  a  corruption  of  morals.  Crime 
was  fearfully  prevalent;  gigantic  frauds  were  periDctratcd  by 
men  of  high  position  ;  suddenly  acquired  wealth  had  begotten 
luxurious  and  profligate  manners  hitherto  unknown  in  our 
rejiublic;  mammon  and  fashion  Mere  leading  the  people  in  a 
carnival  of  ungodliness,  and  the  piety  of  the  Church  did  not 
seem  vigorous  enough  to  stem  this  flood  of  irreligion  and  vice. 
The  only  hopeful  sign  was  that  God's  children  recognized  the 
peril  and  bemoaned  their  own  supineness.  The  Chnrch 
througliout  the  land  felt  that  help  was  in  God  alone,  and  the 
prayer  everywhere  was  'Turn  us  again,  O  God,  and  cause  Thy 
face  to  shine,  and  we  shall  be  saved.'  The  Lord  heard  and 
answered  prayer,  and  this  Synod  has  shared  in  the  general 
religious  awakening,  which  will  render  the  winter  of  1865-66 
memorable  in  the  annals  of  the  Church."  * 

Then  followed  a  few  years  of  adjustment  to  the  new  con- 
dition of  things,  and  a  general  spirit  of  prosperity,  with  some 
special  manifestations  of  grace.  Very  cheerful  and  sanguine 
was  the  Narrative  of  1870. 

The  year  1876  was  the  most  signal  year  of  revival  in  the 
history  of  the  Synod,  and  4,518  souls  were  reported  as  added 
on  examination.  Of  these  974  were  added  to  the  Presbytery 
of  Monmouth,  which  is  believed  to  have  been  in  that  year, 
the  largest  number  in  proportion  to  its  membership  of  any 
Presbytery  of  our  denomination  in  the  United  States,  f 

For  nine  years,  from  1862  to  1870  inclusive,  the  additions 
on  examination  in  the  Synod  were  12^241,  an  average  of 
1,360  per  year. 

For  the  sixteen  years,  from  1871  to  1886  inclusive,  the 
additions  on  examination  have  been  36,978,  an  average  of 
2,311  per  year. 

Whatever  may  be  the  cause,  or  however  affected  by  change 
of  territory  or  methods,  or  by  increase  of  population,  the 
average  annual  additions,  on  examination,  since  1871  have 

*  Minutes  of  Synod,  186G,  p.  8. 

tSee  Doctor  Aikman's  Report,  Minutes  of  Synod,  187G,  p.  G2. 


30  HISTORICAL   SKETCH   OF 

been  nearly  twice  as  many  as  they  were  before  the  reunion. 
In  all  these  things  hitherto  the  Lord  hath  helped  us.  Praise 
be  to  His  Name,  who  permits  us  to  be  in  some  small  measure 
co-workers  with  Him. 

CONCLUSION. 

We  would  not  forget  the  claims  of  other  portions  of  our 
common  country  ;  nor  ignore  the  work  of  other  Denomina- 
tions, yet  do  we  owe  as  a  Synod  a  special  responsibility  to  this 
State,  which  is  peculiarly  committed  to  our  care. 

New  Jersey,  the  thirty-fifth  in  area  and  the  nineteenth  in 
population,  is  the  seventh  in  rank  in  the  product  of  mines  ; 
the  sixth  in  the  product  of  manufactures ;  the  first  in  the 
means  of  communication  by  railroads  and  canals,  and  has  been 
foremost  in  the  valuation  of  farm  lands,  and  in  the  value  of 
products  per  acre. 

Peculiarly  important  is  its  position  between  the  two  great 
cities,  from  Avhich  multitudes  come  to  find  among  us  their 
homes.  It  is  a  highway  for  a  large  part  of  the  traffic  from 
the  South  and  West ;  is  rapidly  increasing  in  wealth  and 
population  and  seems  to  be  destined  to  become  the  most 
densely  populated  State  in  the  Union. 

In  cultivating  this  field  the  Presbyteries  need  the  sympathy 
and  fostering  care  of  the  entire  Synod ;  for  we  are  ecclesiasti- 
cally one  body,  and  the  eye  cannot  say  unto  the  hand,  I  have 
no  need  of  thee ;  nor  again  the  head  to  the  feet,  I  have  no 
need  of  you,  and  whether  one  member  suffer  all  the  members 
suffer  with  it,  or  if  one  member  be  honored  all  the  members 
rejoice  with  it.  * 

With  a  compact  territory  we  are  one  body.  Let  it  be  our 
endeavor,  depending  upon  the  Divine  blessing,  to  cultivate 
this  territory  for  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 

The  church  is  compared  to  a  body  having  many  members. 
Let  us  so  think  of  our  Synod  as  a  symmetrical  body  and  its 
Presbyteries  as  members  one  of  another. 

*  1  Cor.  12 :  21-2G. 


THE  SYNOD   OF   NEW   JERSEY.  31 

It  is  vital  to  the  human  body  that  the  hings  and  heart  be 
in  normal  condition  ;  so  is  it  essential  to  the  life  of  the  Synod 
that  New  Brunswick,  central  as  its  heart,  shall  ever  l)e  faith- 
ful and  sound.  With  Jersey  City  on  the  East  and  Elizabeth 
on  the  West,  our  fair  Synod  stretches  forth  her  hands  to 
draw  from  other  States  commercial  and  mineral  wealth.  At 
Newark  she  opens  her  mouth  and  words  of  eloquence  and 
unction  fall  from  her  lips.  Under  the  brow  of  overhanging 
hills,  through  the  eyes  of  Morris  and  Orange,  she  looks  joy- 
ously over  her  fruitful  fields.  Newton,  as  the  head,  serenely 
crowns  the  whole  body ;  while  Monmouth  and  West  Jersey, 
with  willing  feet,  stand  ready  to  extend  the  domain  of  our 
fair  Synod.  Comprising  eight  Presbyteries  here,  and  not  for- 
getting our  little  Sister  far  away  Corisco,  truly  we  are  one 
Synod,  one  united  body  and  members  one  of  another. 

Therefore,  let  there  be  no  schism  in  the  body  ;  but  let  the 
members  have  the  same  care  one  for  another.  While  we 
maintain  the  unity  of  the  body  let  us  strive  to  maintain  the 
unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace. 

Note. — The  writer  acknowledges  his  debt  to  Doctor  Rodgers  for  much 
valuable  information,  without  which  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  have 
prepared  this  discourse.  In  recounting  the  origin  of  the  earlier  Presby- 
teries he  has  aimed  to  interweave  in  this  narrative  the  essential  items 
for  the  beneBt  of  those  to  whom  Dr.  Rodger's  work  is  not  accessible. 

Besides  giving  an  exposition  and  application  of  his  text,  Dr.  Rodgers 
gave  obituary  notices  of  four  Ministers  who  had  died  in  the  preceding 
ecclesiastical  year,  viz. :  Revs.  Messrs.  Isaac  V.  Brown,  D.  D.;  Nicholas 
Murray,  D.  D.;  John  Dorrance,  D.  D.;  and  Thomas  Spencer  Ogden,  a 
missionary  to  Corisco.  He  also  reported,  that  from  1823  to  18G0  inclu- 
sive, there  had  been  in  the  several  Presbyteries,  while  connected  with 
the  Synod : 

Ordinations 273 

^-Installations 236 

Dismissions  to  other  Presbyteries  and  other  bodies  .  .  .     380 

Dissolution  of  the  Pastoral  relation 267 

Licensed  to  preach ■t'O 

Churches  organized 126 

Clerical  members    removed    by  death,   including   the 
four  above  mentioned 73 

In  1882  the  Synod  became  a  Corporate  body,  having  filed  a  certificate 
with  the  Clerk  of  the  County  of  Essex,  and  adopted  as  the  Corporate  Name 
The  Trustees  of  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey. 


PRESBYTERY 

Year 

Ministers 

Churches 

Communi- 
cants 

Congregat'nal 
Contributions 

New  Brunswick,  .   .   . 

1738 

1823 

23 

15 

1480 

1861 

42 

20 

4663 

$  41,623 

1870 

46 

23 

5121 

49,745 

1886 

64 

33 

7146 

87,679 

Raritan, 

1840 

9 

14 

1260 

1861 

10 

15 

1743 

8,013 

1870 

19 

18 

2381 

56,678 

Newton, 

1819 

14 

25 

1515 

1823 

18 

31 

2398 

1861 

27 

30 

3985 

28,039 

1870 

31 

28 

3832 

54,417 

1886 

38 

35 

5504 

57,461 

Elizabethtown, .  .   .   . 

1825 

17 

16 

3162 

1861 

26 

16 

2991 

20,265 

1870 

32 

17 

3231 

60,950 

Elizabeth, 

1871 

43 

29 

5283 

120,438 

1886 

49 

32 

7093 

106,838 

West  Jersey, 

1839 

12 

13 

1085 

1861 

15 

22 

2044 

16,422 

1870 

23 

28 

2980 

47,688 

1886 

44 

45 

5432 

77,934 

Monmouth, 

1860 

12 

12 

1436 

7,377 

1861 

11 

12 

1490 

8,763 

1870 

15 

13 

1870 

20,648 

1886 

49 

44 

5058 

53,250 

Burlington, 

1849 

1850 

6 

8 

199 

1861 

10 

13 

791 

5,268 

1870 

11 

14 

1190 

14,535 

Corisco, 

1860 

1861 

4 

1 

66 

66 

1870 

4 

2 

89 

26 

1886     ■ 

9 

7 

674 

111 

Newark, 

1825 

20 

19 

3025 

1839 

30 

29 

3210 

1861 

41 

23 

5461 

1870 

58 

35 

8104 

138,444 

1871 

38 

22 

5816 

1886 

50 

'25 

7555 

133,232 

Jersey  City, 

1871 

32 

21 

3357 

69,652 

1886 

38 

29 

4597 

76,524 

Morris  and  Orange,  .  . 

1871 

36 

31 

5109 

99,275 

1886 

50 

39 

7243 

95,414 

Eockaway, 

1839 

1840 

16 

15 

704 

1861 

22 

20 

2334 

1870 

18 

20 

2230 

27,740 

Passaic,  ....... 

1853 

17 

14 

2635 

22,489 

1861 

;8 

14 

2957 

24,814 

1870 

^9 

19. 

3662 

116,939 

5    w    « 


a>    c    u 


